University of Nebraska at OmahaDigitalCommons@UNO

Student Work

4-1949

Color Preference and Personality StructureRobert E. BeebeUniversity of Nebraska at Omaha

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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

Color Preferenceand

Personality Structure

A Thesis presented to

The Faculty of the Department of Psychology Municipal University of Omaha

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts

by

Robert E. Beebe April 18, 1949

UMI Number: EP72953

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Few contributions of this type may be considered R one-roanH accomplishments* ’‘Csxe-nan* accomplishments are about as rare as « self-made-men*— — neither flourishes in great numbers* Men pro­duce with the considerable help of--- or in oppositional reactionto— -other raen. In either ease* the producer certainly owes a debt of gratitude to the individuals who provided the stimulus that aided in the accomplishment of the task*

The author is vividly aware of the many debts of this type that he must acknowledge* Be fully realizes that he can never adequately repay the tremendous debt of gratitude that he owes

Dr. Berthe 0* hoch, for the love and knowledge of color that she imparted to the author--— -certainly a pillar that helped sustain and fulfill the desire to experiment in the field of aesthetics*

Dr* Leslie N* Garlough* the Statistical Advisor for the Thesis,who gave so freely of his time and knowledge and advice inth© field of statistical analysis,

the forty Students, who made this Thesis possible by allowingthemselves to be tested— -end re-tested for roaxiy long andarduous hours*

andDr* Claud© S* Thompson* the author*s Jla.Tr and Minor Advisor, who

spent so many hours counseling the author in his personaland research problems, read, re-read and corrected this paper with such thoughtful care, and whose knowledge of personality and testing procedures played such a valuable part in the structuring end solution of this problem,------------------

so he must content himself with saying thank you all— -thank youvery, very much* It has been a real pleasure, this privilege ofworking with you#

** TABID: OF CONTENTS

Chapters Pages

Chapter ILTATEMETJT OF BIS PROBLEM *»>«**«** ■»«**. \Q m Introduction 1b« The Problem 3e* Delimitations 4

Chapter IIPREVIOUS, RELATED RE&SARGR #**<****#*##*»*****<**•****»'*»#*» 6

«Chapter III

CHI TIMA OF FES SAP CH »*«**» «* »**<*«# #♦>*«*«*•**** #****$« 13a* Whet is the nature of Personality 14b. Nature of the Validity of the Personality Inventory 16o. The Origin of Personality and Color Proferenoe 18d. The Validity of the Color Preference Test 18e• The Reliability of the Color Preference Pattern 21

Chapter IVTESTS USED AND MATERIALS NBiSDED 25a* The Personality Tests 26b* The Color Preference Test 27

Chapter VMETHOD AND Pi ?OCBi>UILE **Ti * « 3 * *s# ** »*« * 4 ***»«*«■»* * -1 w 31&• The Method of Comparing Colors 31b. The Testing Situation 33c* The Order of Testing 34d. General Treatment of the Bata 36a, Other 'Considerations 37

Chapter VIANALYSIS OF Till BATA APB TLB RESULTS *»«,*******»*<«****» 39 a* Analysis of the Data 40b, Tabulation of Sub-group Proportionate Color

Preference Patterns 44o. Analysis of the Sub-group Preference Differences 47d* Presentation of Results 49e. Dr La Cat hared from the Group of Iftm 84

Chapter VIISUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE IBiSEyJDCH** 93 a* Summary 93b, Conclusions 95o. Suggestions for Future Research 98

GRAPHSGraph PageI The Color Preference Patterns of the Group

of Men and the Group of Women— ----- — -------*---------- - 43II The Color Preference Patterns of the Sub­

groups, Neurotic and Well-Adjusted, of theGroup of Women (Bernreuter, Bl-N)-------------------- 51a

III Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsIntrovert and Extrovert (Bernreuter, B3-I)------------- 51b

IV Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsSelf-Consciuos and Self-Confident (Fl-C)---- 51c

V Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groups Non-Self-Sufficient and Self-Sufficient, with two groupings of each, (B2-S)------------------ 54

VI Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsSubmissive and Aggressive (B4-D)---------------------- 57

VII Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsNon-Social and Social (F2-S)-------------------------- 58

VIII Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsDepressed and Gay-Hearted (Johnson Temp., B)--------- 60

IX Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsCold and Cordial (Johnson Temp., D)------- 61

X Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsHard-Boiled and Sympathetic (E) -------------------- 62

XI Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsSubjective and Objective (F)-------------------------- 63

XII Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsAggressive and Submissive (G) ------------------------ 65

XIII Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsAppreciative and Critical (H) — ---------------- 66

XIV Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsImpulsive and Self-Mastery (I)------------------------ 69

XV Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groups High-Overt-Activity and Low-Overt-Activity (Factors GAMIN, G)------------------------------------ 70a

GRAPHS ( c o n t ' d )

Graph PageXVI Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groups

Hypomania (excessive) and Hypomania (normal),(Minn. Multi. Personality Inventory, Ma.)------------- 70b

XVII Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsSubmissive and Ascendent (Factors GAMIN, A) — 72

XVIII Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsSelf-Conscious and Self-Confident (Factor I) — — . 7 3

XIX Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsNervous and Calm (Factor N)------ — — -------- — ----- 74

XX Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsIntrovert and Extrovert (Factors STDCR, Social)----— 75®

XXI Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsIntrovert and Extrovert (Factors STDCR, Thought) 75b

XXII Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsIntrovert-Introvert, Extrovert-Introvert, and Extrovert-Extrovert (Factors STDCR, S and T)--------- 76

XXIII Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsDepressed and Optimistic (Factor D) -------------— 79®

XXIV Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsCycloid and Non-Cycloid (Factor C)— ------------------79b

XXV Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groupsRhathymie and Non-Rhathymic (Factor R)------------- - 81

XXVI Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groups Hysteria (excessive) and Hysteria (normal),(Minn. Multi. Personality Inventory, Hy.) — 82

XXVII Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groups Psych. Deviate (excessive) and Psych. Devi­ate (normal), (Minn. Multi. Pd.)----------------- 84

XXVIII Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groups,Neurotic and Well-Adjusted, of the Group ofMen (Bernreuter, Bl-N)--------------- ---------------- 85

XXIX Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groups,Non-Social and Social, of the Men (F2-S)------------ - 89

XXX Color Preference Patterns of the Sub-groups,Depressed and Optimistic, of the Men andWomen (Factor D). (Four Sub-groups)------ — 91

CHAPTER I

STATEMENT OF Til 3 PROBLEM

The retina of the human eye is made up of tenlayers* One of these layers, the bacillary layer, is

(1)composed of 130 million rods and 7 million cones. It would appear, in view of the unusually large proportion of rods to cones, that the rods were of much greater importance to the process of seeing than the cones,-— but this is not the case at all* The cones, it is true, are very thinly scattered throughout the peripheral area of the retina; so thinly scattered, in fact, as to ap­pear almost entirely lacking. The proportion of cones increases, however, as the visual axis is approached.They become the exclusive element of the macula, that(2)localized area directly in line with the visual axis* Thus, the focal point of vision, plus a reasonable area of the retina surrounding it, is almost exclusively made up of cones. Are the cones, i.e., the agents of color vision, important to visual perception? They certainly are. They are, by far, the most influential factor in the process of seeing.

LColor is a very important experience in the life of the human being. He suffers blue moods, is green with envy, sees red when angry, is characterized as yellow in retreat, or is purple with rage. He exhibits

a form of color preference every time he chooses a seg­ment of apparel, a car, a color scheme for his home, a set of dishes, or an ill-used set of books for the family library. Sine© color is such a consistent part of the individual’s environment, it could conceivably have a very important effect on the thinking, acting and feel- i rig th at ch aractarizes h im.J

Our society is a color-conscious one. The interest and regard for color displayed by the people of this country is of the extreme variety. The advertising agen­cy is absorbed in the search for a little knowledge re­garding its effective and affective value. The interior decorator is deeply interested in ascertaining the most plausible color scheme for a multitude of specific func­tional buildings. The designer of dresses, automobiles, or of any other common item clashes daily with the prob­lem of selecting the colors that will best fit and sell his creations. If color were not an important factor in all of these instances, there is no reason to assume that the time, energy, and money being spent on charting its effects would continue to mount----but mount it does. Color is a joy to behold. It is, however, a very real problem.

This research problem was established with the hope of dispelling, in one way or another, a little of the uncertainty that surrounds the use of color. If color

and personality are related in any way, it is knowledgeworth ti;e gaining*

raa PROBLEMTrie problem of this investigation was to determine

what, if any, personality characteristics, as measured by standardized tests, relate to affective preference reaction patterns to the colorst red, orange, yellow, yellow-green, green, blue-green, blue, and violet. Particular attention was focused on the following points:

1. Similarities and differences exhibited by the sexes in regard to personality characteristics as de­termined by the standardized personality inventories.The material was analyzed in terms of the individual traits, as these were presented and defined by the vari­ous personality inventories used.

2. Similarities and differences exhibited by thetwo sexes with respect to group color preference, as

*

determined by a color preference test.3. Similarities and differences exhibited by two

groups of trie same sex, so chosen because they repre­sented the polar extremes of one trait, with respect to mean color preference pattern.

4. The basic color preference patterns, their similarities and differences, that might serve to differentiate between the two groups representing the

polar extremes of one trait.

5* The possibility that color, as an abstract stimulus with possible affective properties, mignt be used to help in the determination of the basic nature of the individual*@ personality*

the purpose of this investigation was to discover whether or not certain colors, because of the nature of their stimulus value, were liked or disliked (accepted or rejected) on the basis of the personality of the

perceiving organism*

DBLI k IT A T10 .The real problem of this research was, as is many

tines the ca.ee, on© of deciding when and wr.ere to stop* In the beginning, forty college students were given the battery of personality tests and the color preference test# The group was composed of twenty rmn and twenty women* Vfnen the appropriate statistical procedures had revealed the fact that the men and women would have to be treated, in all future analysis, as separate groups, a more thorough treatment of the data that represented the women was initiated* As the work progressed, it be­came increasingly apparent that the scope of the problem was too groat to be developed completely in th 1 s paper* It required over thirty graphs to illustrate adequately th© color preference pattern© of the women. Puck ex­tensive measures were found to be not feasible in the analysis of the material procured from the group of men*

The data was treated with the same statistical pro­cedures as were used in the analysis of the women# but only a sample# large enough to suggest the nature of the results achieved, with the men, will be presented in t is paper*

1* Maximow, Alexander A* and Bloom, William, # HA Textbook of " If let o logy,w W, B* Saui53er3T'Co * * Philadelphia Sc London* Pp. 617, (Pp. 616-622)

2* Krie£, Wendell J. 8.# "Functional H euro ana to ray" #■Hie Blakiston Co. #~Fhilad©lphiaj Pp. 163-171. (Color perception of cones— Pp. 166)

5

CHAPTER II

PREVIOUS , RELATED RESEARCH

Very little material Has been accumulated in the field of study embraced by this research problem. Very little pertinent material has been recorded in the nu­merous periodicals, pamphlets, textbooks, and source books that were referred to prior to the formation of the methodology used in this problem, A number of in­vestigators have tested the color preference patterns of various age and racial groups. The several differ­ent methods used, as well as the results that were achieved, will be mentioned later in this chapter, A few men have attempted to determine the nature of the individual* s physiological responses to the stimulation of colored lights. Others have tried to ascertain the effect that color exerts on production. (The testoes, in this case, were asked to perform simple tasks, tasks such as the solving of simple arithmetic problems, etc., under the influence of highly saturated colors* All of the articles that fell within the visual field of the testee were of one dominant color? the desk, the chairs, the general background against which the testee operated. The rates of production achieved under the influence of the colors used in the experiment, as well as the rate of production achieved in a neutral situation,

war© compared*) The author was able to uncover only one experiment in which color preference pattern and personality structure were definitely equated and ana- ly^ed*

At the World*s Fair in St* Louis, 1904, R* 3*Woodworth and f* 0* Bruner checked color preference byplacing a large assortment of skeins of colored worsted"(those used in the Holmgren test for color blindness)Hin a loos© pile on a table, and by allowing the testee

(i)to pick out the color that pleased him most and least.The reds and pinks and light blue were chosen most often.Orange and reddish purple -were chosen least* When theywere chosen, it was because of the testee*a dislikefor them. The greens were seldom chosen as best orleast liked* The results of this experiment suggestthat colors that approach the primary colors, red andblue, were best liked, that the hues that resulted froma mixture of red and blue or red and yellow (violets,purplee, and oranges) were disliked, and that the greenswere the least affective colors— -in so far as extentof choice for either extreme was concerned*

(2)Jastrow, at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1B93, pre­

sented a group of testees with a series of colored papers. The most frequently preferred color was blue in the case of men, and red in the case of women*

J. P. Guilford, using the paired comparison method

7

of color preference testing, attempted to plot the(3)

affective value of various spectral colors. He found that the curve started at average affective value for red, dropped to a low point for yellow, rose to a little above average for green, dropped somewhat for blue-green, ascended to a high point for blue, and dropped again for violet. The most affective colors were, according to his findings, red, green, and blue. The colors yellow, bluish-green, and violet were found to be least affective. Guilford went on to suggest several factors that influenced color preference.

ese factors were: (1) hue, (2) brightness, (3) satu­ration, and (4) previous associations with the colors.He found,also, that the color preference pattern of the individual, after an interval of one year, s owed rela­tively high stability. The correlation between test and retest was .84.

Other samples of color preference pattern havebeen taken by Winch (1909), Washburn (1911), Katz and

(4)Breed, (1922), Garth (1924), and ilicbaels (1924). Theresults of these tests seldom agreed, and appeared to leave the whole problem in a rather jumbled state.

Several important hypotheses, however, were suggested by the data collected. First, several factors other than hue affect the aesthetic impression. These factors are brightness, saturation, area, and field. Jeeond,

the surface texture of the medium that reflects (r@-(5)

jecte) the color is very important. Colored silks, for instance, are generally more pleasing than are colored papers#

These experiments suggest the variety of methods that could conceivably be used in uncovering color preference pattern, but they do not reflect the type of problem that is the basis of this paper# Color preference was evidently considered an important di­mension of human expression and feeling, but it was never actively considered in relation to personality structure# (6)

T# Sbikiba, in 1928, assessed the color prefer­ence patterns of inmates of mental institutions and delinquent boys# The color preference pattern of the whole group was (l) blue, (2) red, (3) violet, (4) green(5) yellow, and (6) orange# Sbikiba gave his color pref erence test to groups of individuals who, according to clinical diagnosis, illustrated abnormal manifestations of the symptomatic complexes typical of various mental disorders# He then determined the mean color prefer­ence pattern of each group# Sbikiba tested many groups, too many to list in this paper# Some of the more illus­trative color preference patterns are as follows?U ) Manic; R, V, G, B, 0, Y;(2) Depressive; B, G, Y, 0, V , and R;

(3) Epileptic5 B, H, V, 0, G , and Y;(4) Paralytic Dementia; Bf V, R, Y, G , and 0;(5) 2?eurotic; B, R, 0, Y, G , and V;(6) Dementia Praecox; B, R, G , V, Y, and 0;(7) Senile Dementia; V, B, R, Y, G, and 0;(8 ) Amentia; V , B, 0, R, Y, and G.This partial list of the results of the work of 3 ikiba should serve to illustrate the variation tnat differ­entiated the groups. The color preference patterns of the manic and depressive groups is particularly interesting* They represent almost complete reversals in order of preference* Bed and violet move from top positions in the one group to bottom (last) positions in the other* Blue and yellow operate in the same fashion* Green maintains about the same position, which is typical of most of the other reports, and orange, which is usually listed as an unpleasant color, retainsa consistently low position*

(7)IS* Bui lough, using the serial method of color

preference testing, attempted to discover the reasons why colors were liked or disliked---~the conditions up­on which color preference depends* He used seventy hues, shades, and tints* "The subject looked through a cir­cular aperture at the color, which was in bright andconstant light, and had to say whether he liked or dis-(8)liked it, and his reason for liking or disliking." The

thirty-five subjects were divided into four groups on tb© basis of tbeir reasons for liking or disliking a color* These groups were as followss(1) Objective Tyoe— -who liked or disliked a color

on tb@ basis of its saturation, pureness, brightness, thinness* or dullness*

(2) Physiological T.vn©— -- who liked or disliked a color because it was stimulating, soothing, or depressing*

(3) Associative Type-— -who liked or disliked a color on the basis of its association with some agreeable or disagreeable object or event in their experience.

(4) Branatby Type— --who liked or disliked colors on the basis of the "character11 of the color (jovial, sympathetic, stubborn, or aggressive*)

These four aspects of color appeal are considered "Aesthet­ic Types*M

The apparent dearth of related material in this field of study should not be interpreted as an indication of a lack of value in this type of research problem* In view of tb© important position given color in tk© creation of clothing, in interior decoration, in advertising, and in a multitude of other fields of endeavor, this lack of knowledge about the possible relationships that might ©xist between color preference and personality serves, rather, to suggest the need for such research* 3inc© men must live constantly within walls of color, tbey can certainly afford to le rn to choose those colors tb a t cause tb em the least discomfort— or a llow tb era t :• e greatest pleasure*

(1) Woodworth. Robert 3. . "Experimental Psychology" ,Henry i.olt and Co*7 Sew York, 1938; Pp. 381#

(2) Ibid., Pp. 382.(3) Guilford. J. P., 11 Affective Value of Color as a

Function 0? Hue, Tint, and Chroma", Journal of Experimental Psych., 1934, 17, Pp. 342-71.

t*) Woodworth« Robert 3». “Experimental Psychology”,Henry Holt and Co.7 Be'# York, 1938; Pp* 382

(5) Ibid., Pp. 382(6) Sbikiba. JJ*, “Color Preference of Deranged Person®

and Delinquent Boys”, Psychological Abstracts,Vol. 2, 1928, 2694.

i?) Colling» Mary and Drever. James, “ExperimentalPsychology11, E. P. Dutton and Co., Hew York,1930; Pp. 202*

(6) Ibid., Pp. 202

kJ T . t j.iili itj-Jj a ~ji \ i i tA C S o J

Guilford. J. P., “Methods of Paired Comparisons as a PsychomeTric Method”. Psychological Review, Vol. 35, 1928, Pp. 494.Walsh, J* H. et al.. “Color Preferences of 1279 University Jtudents,*’ American Journal of Psychology. 1933, Vol. 45, Pp. 322-28.Burtt. Harold E., “Psychology of Advertising”, Houghton Mifflin Go*, (ittvorside Press,) Cambridge, 1938.Chandler. Albert R., “Recant Experiments in Visual Aeothetics”, The Psychological Bulletin, 1928,

a <r;i

CHAPTER III

CRITERIA OF RESEARCH

A criterion is a test by which anything is tried in forming a correct judgement respecting it*' It is a standard by which a judgement is rendered* Prior to the equation and statistical analysis of descriptions of two or more dimensions of the human’s nature, dimen­sions such as personality structure and color prefer­ence, standards of judgement must be established re­garding them* 'This primary step is the formation of a conceptualism involving the nature and function of personality structure and color preference* Several important questions, questions that are determined or colored by the nature of the material of the research problem, must be asked---and answered. Worded in the terms of this particular problem, the following ques­tions demand an answers

1* What is the nature of personality structure?2. What relationship does personality structure

bear to those factors revealed and defined by the per­sonality inventory? (This question demands an inspec­tion of the claims of validity launched in behalf of the personality inventory.)

3. Are personality structures and color prefer­ence patterns resultant products of the same, or very

similar, processes? Do they develop from similar causes?4# la the apparent color preference pattern of the

individual, as uncovered by the paired-comparison method of color preference testing, equivalent to bis actual color preference?

5* Is the reliability (durability, consistency) of the color preference pattern of tre individual great enought to allow this factor to be equated with person- ality,---with a reasonable expectation of achieving re­liable results?

When these questions have been answered, when the battle lines of the opposition have been drawn and care­fully studied,— — tben does it become possible to form the type of attack capable of resolving the problem into understandable form# It will b© the purpose of this chapter to attempt answers to these questions. It is assumed that these answers will provide the criteria to which this research problem must be anchored.

WHAT IS THE MATURE OF PERSONALITY?Professor Ross Stagner, in his recent text, “Psy­

chology of Personality", describes a dynamic concept of personality that seems, in the main, to answer this ques­tion satisfactorily. Personality, as conceptualized by Stagner, takes on the semblance of a highly integrated,constantly moving organization; genetic in formation,and affected to an undetermined extent, by the physio-

logical makeup of the individual* "Personality is the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique ad-

U )justiaents to his environment*M It is a learned patternof intervening variables* built within the limits of the(2)physiological character of the individual*

Personality appears to operate at three distinguish­able levels* behavioral, perceptual, and motivational* These three level® are closely integrated, and. consist of relatively few dimensions* Trie behavioral level is characterized by two demonsions * "(1) approach to or withdrawal from a stimulus object* and (2) increase', ordecreased organ!amic activity with reference to the ob-

(3)j©ct•" The perceptual level is organized in a slightly different fash ion* It does display a rather definite demension that might be culled approval-disapproval* Another dimension, not as easily determined, might be described in terns of the attentiveness of the perceiv­ing individual-— -increased or decreased attention* Theperceptual level of oersonality is, in addition, divided

(5,6)into areas of attitudinal sets, or frames of reference* These "points of view" serve as guides to the formation of judgements* The individual reacts to the stimulus pattern in terms of the way in which it is perceived*This level of personality make-up is the record of past experience* It is the interpreter who serves to eatab-

lish an understanding between the organism and the ex-* ternal environment? an understanding that provides for rather consistent, problem-solving behavior# Toe moti­vational level of the personality structure is cbarac-

(?)terized by a dimension of approval-disapproval, or approach-withdrawal# It is also patterned in accordance with the order of dominance of different motives, the individual*s capacity for delaying and sustaining thedirect expression of these motives, and the complexity(8)of tb© dynamic organization of these factors#

It will be noticed that all levels share the com­mon demension of approval-diaapproval or approach-with­drawal* This fact of structure suggests the three-di­mensional character of personality--— the third dimen­sion being one of depth, of vertical arrangement of planes* A probing of successively lower levels of the personality should uncover a tendency towards greater and greater stability and apparent unity# Behavior seems to be a matter of perception, mediation at the lower lev­els, and behavior aimed at the restoration of the equi­librium of the reacting organism#

This KaTUBV, Of This VALIDITY 0$ Th3 Phff^IJALITT IBYaflTORY* fhe fact that most personality inventorlea have

been constructed to assess those polar aspects of the personality called traits suggests a widespread belief in the existence of the trait# The definition of the

trait, *a generalized t©ndency to evaluate situations(9)

in a predictable manner and to act accordingly*, cer­tainly stimulates the belief that the trait reflects the organisation of, at least, the behavioral and per­ceptual levels of personality* If a study of person­ality, in terms of traits, allows the understending, prediction, and control of individual activity on the behavioral level, which seems to he the case, the

assumption that the personality is an organization of traits seems to be, for all practical purposes, a defensible one. Toe consideration of personality in terms of the trait does not deny or displace the struct­ure previously described* Trie trait is merely a more specifically defined, part-dimension of those previously mentioned*

This vein of reasoning offers an answer to question number twoj i*e*, what relationship does personality bear to those factors revealed and defined by the personality inventory? If the inventory uncovers stable, predictable aspects of the personality, whether or not the titles given to the traits describe them accurately, its pro­cedure and. results can be considered valid* It performs

this function with useful accuracy* huch of tb© proof for the existence of the trait is equally valuable in ascertaining the validity of the inventory— — for the job done by the inventory is the proof*

IK S PRIG I I I Off PbRSQIIAhlTY AHD COLOR PRj^SRBflCS*

Question number three, the question regarding the similarity of origin of personality structure and color preference pattern, can "be answered# Both personality structure and color preference pattern are the result of the process of experiencing| of the process of learn­ing* Colors nave "been designated, by some, in terms of their stimulus value* Had has been considered a stim­ulating color, and green a subduing one* This sort of color assessment has little bearing on this case* It neither tends to support nor to harm the line of reason­ing being expressed* Whether a ttstimulating” color seems irritating or pleasant to a specific organism is still a function of the wframe of niindM of the organism?"and this frame of mind is a matter of learning! i*e*, a function of personality* It would appear that personality struct­ure and color preference pattern are both matters of learned preferences, and as such are liable to equation and analysis*

TKiS V A L ID IT Y O f ih J ihdJULTS Off ThS SOLOS TB3T*

Is the apparent golor preference pattern of the individual, as uncovered by the paired-comparison method of color preference testing, equivalent to a is actual color preference pattern? The answer to t: is question is influenced by the construed meaning of ’‘actual color preference* If tee testing procedure as a mole, in-

18

eluding the pre-test instructions, the presentations of the paired colors, and the atmosphere of the total test­ing situation, is a carefully structured routine, there is no reason to assume the existence of a difference between the two. It is indeed likely that each color is associated with a large number of types of experien­ces. Preference is, after all, a learned predisposition to select one color over anoth@r----perhaps, over all others. It is equally conceivable that two people might prefer the same color to the same extent — -because of an entirely different group of associations. v The same in­dividual may logically display different color prefer­ence patterns if questioned with specific reference to clothing, to wallpaper for his home, or to any other object that calls forth a well defined group of associa­tions. The affective value of color may function in color preference to the extent that the individual has found this color to have, in certain amounts, an irrita­ting or soothing effect upon him. (Tils point of view suggests the idea that color, by affecting personality structure of a certain type in a certain way, causes personality to effect color preference.)

It has been suggested that color preference is the result of learned predispositions to select certain colors over otriers; that color preference may be a function of numerous types of associations, and the general psychic

make-up of the individual# The latter point is an im­portant part-problem of the research problem. The for­mer statement, i.e., that color preference is conceiv­ably a p-^-rt-function of numerous associations of differ­ent types, is of importance* It is of import to the ex­tent that knowledge of this effect, if used, may allow it to be neutralized as thoroughly as is possible. The elimination of this effect is not the implication meant* Such a maneuver is neither possible nor desirable* The implication is, rather, that the possibility of a one­sided loading of the types of associations called forth should be reduced as much as possible. Specific pref­erence for a color, as determined by considerations of clothing, wallpaper, or some other object with a defin­ite use, is of little value to tils study. A preference for a color, however, that expresses all of these is the real aim* "Actual color preference*1 becomes the color preference pattern of the individual as dictated by his total psychic and associational make-up. The color pref­erence test must be considered as capable of preo icting the actual color preference of the individual. The final test of its value rests in the relationships, if any, that are found to exist between color preference pattern and personality structure. If the results of a personality inventory of acceptable validity are equated with the results of the color preference test, and if

O k ?/ >

statistical analysis reveals very significant results in terms of relationships between the twof then the color preference test must be revealing a portion of the make-up of the individual that possesses just as much reality as the dimensions of personality uncovered by the personality test* This is a justifiably pragmatic view of the color preference test. The results of the an­alysis of the data of this problem may serve as a fur­ther justification.

TEE RELIABILITY OF THE COLOR PREFEREHCB PATTTRU*The final question to be dealt with in this chapter

involves the reliability of the color preference patterns uncovered by the paired-comparison method of color pref­erence testing. Although reliability, as sucn, will not be discussed in the body of this paper (for reliability is imperative only to the extent that standardization is the aim) approximately thirty percent of the individ­uals tested were given a re-test in color preference.The results suggested that the color preference pattern of the individual, on re-test, remains, in a majority of cases, the same. The only variations noted involved small changes. Last place colors, those colors occupy­ing positions number seven and eight, occasionally ex­changed positions. Colors that fell in second or first place also, on occasion, exchanged places. The majority of the variations, though few in number, were the result

of the movement of a middle value color, a color occu­pying position four or five, to the next nigner or low­er position. In no case was there a drastic change, as would have been the case if a last place color on the first test had, on re-test, moved to position number one, two, three, or four. It is worth remembering that only two reversals in twenty-eight judgements could causa drastic changes in the color preference pattern of the individual* Two changes could throw the first and last three colors into an absolute tie; six choices each for the first three, and one choice each for the last three. All changes perceived were slight, and were consistent with the pattern as first established. These findings are in general agreement with the findings of J. ?. Guilford. In one of his studies, in which the second test was given after the interval of a year, the stabil­ity of the individual preferences vas "evinced by a

(10)correlation of *84".

The type of variation that is apparently typical of the revealed color preference pattern is little dif­ferent than that found in toe results of the personality test. The individual is expected to vary slightly in his responses to the statements that compose the personal! t3Ttest, from test to re-test within certain limits. Theperson who scores at the center of the scale on the first test would be expected to vacillate from one side of the

center line to the other on subsequent re-tests. J.nor fluctuations would be expected of the people at either extreme. But it is not expected, however, that an in­dividual, diagnosed as very neurotic in tendency by the test results of on® day-— should, on the following test, achieve a score indicative of highly adjusted behavior. The color preference test appears to have approximately the same degree and type of reliability as does the per­sonality inventory. Th© number of judgements required in the former is much lower, and the effect of each judgement is, thus, greater. It would be possible to find a slightly higher variation in color preference pattern, from test to re-test, than appears to be typ­ical of the personality inventory. This is only a pos­sibility, however, and was not suggested by the results of the data collected.

1• Stagner, Ross, "Psychology of Personality" McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., Hew York, 1948; Pp. 6(A quotation from Gordon Allport, 1937).

2. Ibid? Pp. 5-63. Ibid; Pp. 714. Ibid; Pp. 745. Ibid; Pp. 746. 3herif« Muzafar and Cantiel, Hadley, "The Psychol­

ogy of Ego-Involvements'1, John Wiley <k Sons, Inc. Hew York; 1947; Pps. 3Gff, 34-43, 40ff, 86, 121 129, 425.

7• Stanner, Ross, "Psychology of Personality", McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., Hew York, 1948; Pp. 76

8 . Ib id ; Pp. 76

9 . Ib id? Pp. 143

*0 * G u ilfo r d * J* P. t 11 A f fe c t iv e Value o f Color as afu n c tio n or Hue, T in t , and Chroma", Journal o f Ex­p erim en ta l P sych ., 1934, 17, Pp. 3 4 2 -7 1 .

CHAPTER IV

TESTS USED AMD MATERIALS HEEDED

This particular research problem, i.e., the de­termination of which, if any, personality characteris­tics, as measured by standardized personality inventor­ies, relate to affective preference reaction patterns to the eight major spectral colors, demands the us© of the personality inventory and the color preference test. The first task involved the selection of the personal­ity test, or tests, to be used in determining the per­sonality characteristics of the individuals that com­prised the test-group. A number of considerations were of prime importance. How many tests should be used? Which tests should be used? Should a test be chosen because it reveals the greatest number of individual traits, or because it uncovers a substantial num­ber of fairly well correlated traits? It was decid­ed, on the basis of advice rendered by my Thesis Ad­visor, Dr. Claude E. Thompson, that a battery of five tests of personality should be administered to each of the testees. These tests should be so cnosen that they would take inventory of the greatest possible scope of the personality structure, and still exhibit enough in­ter-correlation to allow one to function as a check of the others. The following tests were selected.

1. MAn Inventory of the .Factors 3TDGR”, by J. P. Guilford, Ph. D.

a* Introvert----Extrovert (Social)b. Introvert----Extrovert (Thought)c. Depressive — -Optimisticd. Cycloid --ifon-Cycloide • If o n -Rh a th y mi c — - -Rh a th y mi c

2m wTbe Johnson Temperament Analysis’4, devised by Roswell K. Johnson, University of Pittsburgh.

a. Composed— ---nervousb. Gay-Hearted--Depressed Cm ^uiet-------- Actived. Cold- ---Cordiale• Kard-Boi1ed--Sympathe t i c f • Obj ective— — 3ubj ective gm Submissive— Aggressiveh. Appreciative-Criticali. Impulsive Self -mastery

3. *The Personality Inventory* t by Robert G. Bernreuter; published by Stanford University Press, Stanford University, California.

a. Emotionally Adjusted--Emotionally maladjusted

b* lion Celf-sufficient- — Self-sufficientc. extrovert Introvertd. Submissive' Dominante. Self-confident-- - -Self -consciousf. Social ilon-social

4. ’’Inventory of Factors GAMI11”, by J. P. Guilford and i: • G. martin.

a. Low Overt Activity High Overt Activityb. Submissive Ascendantc. Feminine Interests masculine Interestsd• ielf-conscious Self-confidente. Hervous -Calm.

5. ’’Minnesota Mnltiphasic Personality Inventory”, by Utarke R. hatnaway, Ph.D., and J• Chrrnley Finley, II. D. ; published by the Psyc': ological Corporation, Dew Yo rk.

a. Hypochondriacalb. Depressionc. hysteriad. Psychopathic Deviatee. Masculine and Feminine Interestsf. Paranoiagm Psychastheniah . 3 ch i z o ph r e n i ai. hypomania

A close examination of the descriptive, bi-polar titles of the scales listed under the various personal­ity inventories should serve to illustrate the scope and depth of the probing potentially possible vith this battery of tests* They should yield evidence of the nature of the individual’s personality at .many levels of the structure.

THE COLOR PRjj &ajSNCiB TESTThere are several methods of taking an inventory

of the color preference of the individuals (1} the raethod of choice, (2) the order of merit method, {3) the rating method, and (4) the paired-corap arison metb-

117od. Since the first three methods seem to allow a great deal of subjective meandering on the part of the testae, and since there might be some doubt as to the validity of the results of these methods, it was decid­ed that tre paired-comparison metsod best suited toe de­mands of th is pr ob 1 em• Tri i s meth od allows th e examiner to exert greater control over the entire testing sit­uation, since the testee baa much lass to do. The order of merit method requires, for instance, that the testee be allov/ed to array all of the colors in ti e order of their preference; i.e., from left to right or top to bottom, as t: e case may be. How many times are the col­ors placed in the positions that actually reflect their order of preference? How many tim.es does some vague

factor of "aesthetic judgement* demand that the colors be arrayed in a pattern, with the possible exception of those colors liked best and least, that satisfies a desire to achieve an internally consistent or a to­tally pleasing effect? Would the results be an indica­tion of color preference, or do they indicate, rather, the aesthetic judgement, influenced at times by actual color preference, of the individual? These questions can hardly be answered with certainty, but tiney brought to mind a number of suggestive possibilities that were unpleasant enough to encourage the use of the method of paired-comparison*

The creation of a color preference test requires the use of a number of materials, relatively rare in some cases* (The selection and procurement of standard­ized colored papers is of particular importance.) Due to the generosity of Dr. Miles A* Tinker, University of Minnesota, who furnished this experimenter with a set of papers from his own supply, Milton Bradley coated colored papers w re used in this research problem. These colored pcpers, as designated by the Milton Bradley pure spectrum scale (The Milton Bradley Studio Book Of Color­ed Papers)« were as follows: Red, Orange, Yellow, Yellow-Green, Green, Blue-Green, Blue, and Violet. After the colored papers were procured, tne creation of the color preference test got under way. The whole procedure was

characterized "by t e following steps (stages):1. A set of seven s :ua.res, 4 cm. by 4 cm* , was

cut from each of the eight colored papers.2* A square "mat-board”, 60 cm. by 60 cm., was

cut from a piece of white* heavy-duty, illustration board.3. A "frame-board", 20 cm. by 20 cm. square, pierced

in the middle by two windows, 3 era. by 3 cm. square and8 cm. apart, was cut from a piece of the same type of illustration board used in step two. This frame was then covered with a medium-grey Hilton Bradley colored paper. Oare was taken so that the inside edges of the windows were also covered.

4. A square, 20 cm. by 20 cm., was lightly drawn in the center of the "mat-board” so that the ”frame- board” could be placed accurately in position. An Exacto Knife was used to cut a slit along one side of to is drawn square. This was the first step in the process of con­necting the ”frame-board" to the ” mat-board” with a cloth hinge.

5. A hinge, 3 cm. wide and 18 cm. long, was cut from a piece of tough cloth. Butcher*s linen was used in this instance. This piece of material 'was tightly glued to the bottom of the ”frame-board” along one of the edges that paralleled the two windows* It was glued in a fashion that allowed one-half of its width to pro­ject beyond the edge to which it was attached. This ex­cess material was then inserted through the slit pre­viously cut in the "mat-board", was drawn taut from beneath, and was then glued securely to the undersideof the "mat-board”•

6. Finally, twenty-eight "mounting-sheets”, 18 cm. by 18 cm., were cut from a twenty-four pound, bond, typ­ing paper. The number of sheets cut represents the num­ber of paired-comparisons needed to present eight colors in all possible combinations of two. These sheets were cut of a size that allowed them to be inserted under the “frame-board.” without extending beyond its edges. The colored squares were then pasted to the "mountingrsbeats” in the paired order suggested by B* B. Titchener.* Bach pair of colored squares, as alloted to each sleet, was pasted to its "mounting-sheet” in the positions that allowed it, when the "mounting-sheet” was placed under the “frame-board” with its leading edge against the back­side of the binge, to be viewed by the testee through the two windows.

The reason behind the hinging of the "frame-bourd" to the "mat-board”, and the pasting of the pairs of col­ors to the ”mounting-sheets*, is apparent* These prep­arations allow the color preference test to be given with much greater dispatch. The whole testing proce­dure is reduced to the following stepss

1. Toe testee is seated at the table with the ex­aminer standing opposite him.

2. The testing board is placed on the table before the testee, with the hinged portion of the "frame-board” toward him.

3. After the testee is given his instructions, and after he has closed his eyes, th© "frame-board” is swung upward on its hinge, the first "mounting-sheet” (with its pair of colors) is slipped into place under the "frame-board”, and the "frame-board is dropped back in­to place.

4. After the teste© has opened his eyes and has indicated his preference in regard to the two colors, h© closes his eyes— --and the procedure is repeated.

Allowing enough time between the exposures for pos­sible after-image to disappear, the entire test seldom takes over four minutes. This was the color preference test as it was used in this experiment.

Woodworth, Robert S., "Experimental Psychology", Henry Holt and Go.7 Hew York, 1938 ; Pp. 370-381.

2. Titcbener. Edward B.. "Experimental Psychology”, The MacMillan Co.,~New York, 1901; Pp. 92-95.

?4 >'

CHAPTER Y

METHOD AMD PROCEDURE

In the previous chapter, a description was given of the various tests used in this research problem* A relatively detailed description was given of th© method­ology involved in the construction of the color pref­erence test* Several important topics, topics tn a t

might conceivably have been dealt with in conjunction with those just mentioned, were reserved for discussion in this chapter on “Method and Procedure*1* It was f e l t

th a t they could be handled with greater clarity in this fashion* Theae topics are as followst (1) the method of pairing colors, (2) the testing situation, (3) the order of testing, and (4) the nature of th© statistical methods th a t fulfilled th© needs of this problem*

THE METHOD QP PAIRlflO COLORS.

Th© method of pairing colors used in to is instancewas,with certain m o d ific a tio n s , that outlined by .Hi* B*

(i)T ito h e n e r. The ;o d if ic;. t io n a , i t ia r oped, increased

the accuracy o f the r a a u lta , T itc h e n e r 's method can be

re a d ily i l lu s t r a t e d w ith a sim ple c h a r t .

C o lo rs ! B jB G O Y G Y R V O

EG 1G 2 3

YG 14 4 5

Colors s B BG G YG Y R YY 15 16 6 7R 23 17 18 8 9V 24 25 19 20 10 110 28 26 27 21 22 12 13

The metis od, as charted, is simply one of arraying the colors in two dimensions (horizontally and vertically), and then giving a number designation to the points where the color vectors would cross* The number one (l) rep­resents the pair of colors, Blue and Blue-Green. It will be noticed that each color is involved in two pair­ings in a row. If, now, the color designation at the top of the chart is always recorded first, Blue would invariably find its way into the left-hand column or position. Blue-Green would accomplish this in six in­stances out of seven, Green in five, Yellow-Green in

(2)four, etc.. This type of pairing allowed the space error to function with little obstruction. In order roughly to equate the pairs with reference to the factor of space position, Titchener's method was slightly modified. Bvery other pair, beginning with pair number two, was reversed. This correction allowed each color to be dis­played in the right hand position about half of the time. In order to reduce the possible effect of one color ap­pearing in two pairs in a sequence, the order of the pairs was then rearranged to the best apparent advantage.

The resultant order of presentation used in this exper­iment was as follows*

1. B BG 8* 0 Y 15* YG Y 22m YG BG2. V 0 9. B R 16* G 0 23. B3. m G 10* BG Y 17* Y R 24. BG R4* YG B 11. Y G 18. G B 25. YG 05* 0 E 12* Y B 19. V Y 26. Y YG6. Y BG 13 • G YG 20. R YG 27. R G7. G Y 14* R Y 21. 0 B 28. 0 BG

This order of pairing and presentation seemed to of­fer the greatest opportunity for achieving the most accu­rate results* All colors appear at fairly regular in­tervals from beginning to end, and vary from the left- hand position to the right, with acceptable regularity*

IKJg TB3TIMQ SITUATION.

All of the testing was carried on with as much care and forethought as the situation allowed. Since a spe­cial room had not been set aside for this type of exper­imentation, it was necessary to select, with all due consideration for the requirements of the testing, a room that could be used with fair regularity and for rel­atively long periods of time* Since the testing involved the presentation of colors, the factor of lighting was of maximum importance* The general color scheme of the room was also an important factor* A room was finally chosen that fulfilled the major requirements of the administra­tion of the color preference test* It was a fairly small room with a large window to the north* The walls of light, relatively neutral tan, the clean white ceiling, and the light woodwork, of J hp color of the wood, allow­

ed the greatest and most even d ifX ‘usion of the light*The room contained one table, one large desk, and three chairs* This room was always used in the a d m in is tra ­

t io n of the color preference test* On occasion, how­

ever, the long battery of personality tests had to be given elsewhere* The alternate room always had simi­lar placement of windows, and similar general color scheme* The testee was, in every case, seated close to the window, w ith the source o f light to his right and slightly to his rear.

Tim ORDER Qg TE3TIHG*

The order of testing was, in all cases, the same*The color perception test was given first* The MPseudo-

laocbromatic Plates fo r Testing Color Perception**, En­graved and Printed by the Beck Engraving Co*, Inc*, P h ila d e lp h ia , Hew fork (Copr* in 1940 by the American

Optical Co*), were used for this purpose* ho color- weak persons were tested further* l ie x t , the color pref­erence test was adm in is tered * it was f e l t that th is

practice m ight reduce the possible effects of visual fa t ig u e * in - s o - f a r as v is u a l fa t ig u e might m odify the results o f toe color preference tact* The administra­tion o f th is test was always prefaced by the verbal pres­entation of the instructions* These instructions were as fo llo w © i

**X am going to take an inventory of your color

preferences* When I say, READY, X want you to close your eyes* When I say, HOW, you will open your eyes and look straight at the two colors* When you have de­cided which of the two colors you like the best, point silently to it. REMEMBER, point 31 LEM XL Y to it."

These instructions contain several interesting points, first, it was the practice of this examiner to have the testee close the eyes between the presen­tations of the paired colors. It was believed that this precaution might have two effects? (l) the en­hancement of the stimulus value of the colors being presented, and (2) the elimination, as far as was pos­sible, of the effect of other colors in the room. Sec­ond, it was felt that the practice of having the testee point silently to the color he preferred would reduce the effect that might result from the relative ease with which the names of certain colors are pronounced and recalled. Th is was to be a test of color preference not a test of the familiarity and ease of reiteration of certain names of colors*

The personality inventories were given in the order that appeared best to pace the efforts of the individual The long Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory was given first. The Bernreuter Personality Inventory, be­cause of its relatively small number of statements, was given second. It was felt that a shorter inventory

sight make the testees to realize that, at some time in the foreseeable future, they might actually finish all of the tests that comprised the battery* Th© next test given was the Johnson Temperament Analysis* Finally, the last two tests, An Inventory of Factors SXDOB and.An Inventory of Factors 0AM1H* were administered*

ggHKRAL TRBATE.H1HT OF TEB DATA*$h@n the testing hi ad been completed, it was neces­

sary to devise a method of reducing the data collected from th© forty teatees to understandable form* At first, an attempt was made to analyze the material on the basis of the choice rendered in relation to each separate pair o f colors* Thus, the scores the individuals received on each trait of th© personality inventories were grouped according to the color chosen in each pair* It quickly became apparent that this procedure was too involved to be of value* The next attempt at analysis was more productive* The people were grouped according to their scores on every trait of the personality inventories* If they scored between zero and fifty-one percentile, they were placed in one group* If they received a score of fifty-on© to one hundred percentile, t ey were placed in the other group* The group-mean color preference pattern for each group was determined, and the two patterns were then equated and analyzed. It will be remembered that the men and women were handled as individual groups, and

were compared only in terms of their group results.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.Before bringing this chapter to a close, it seems

advisable to discuss the considerations that were in­volved in the selection of the test group. Tine test- group was not, in the first place, a thoroughly repre­sentative sample of the total population. This research problem was not born, however, of a desire to determine th© mean color preference pattern of a group of people who were representative, in terms of personality char­acteristics, of the whole population. In an experiment of this type, where th© number of persons tested must remain relatively small because of the scop© of the tests administered to each, there is greater interest in th© extreme individual than in the individual repre­senting the mean. It might help to clarify this dec­laration if it were stated in a different way. If an experimenter were interested in determining what re­lationships existed between color preference pattern and personality characteristics, as uncovered by the Bl-M trait of the Bernreuter Personality Inventory, he would have need for both neurotic and well-adjusted in­dividuals. he would have to use those individuals most illustrative of each pole of the trait in his analysis. This type of treatment is dictated by the very nature of the construction of the personality inventory.

The sample was s t r a t i f i e d to some extent* The proportion of fraternity and sorority members in the

sample was the same as in the University population as

a whole* about one-third* The average age of the group o f men was slightly h ig h e r than th a t o f the group o f

women* The men averaged 20.23 years per individual.The women averaged 19.64 years per person. This differ­ence is Indicative of th® actual age difference that ex­ists between the two group© in the total population of th© University of Omaha. The difference is due to th® presence of numerous veterans. Only white students were tested* The experimenter wished to avoid the introduction of racial differences, particularly with reference to color preference pattern, is such difference© existed.Tie process o f racial stratification increases the com­

plexity o f the a n a ly s is , without adding much to the v a l ­

idity or va lu e of the results. Th® experim ent, as de­fined, requires the testing of men and women of similar age, men and women who attend the U n iv e rs ity of Omaha.T i© requirem ent was fulfilled*

1. Titchener. jg* B., "Experimental Psychology", Vol. I , We~Mac2Illan Co., Hew York* Pp. 92-94.

2 . ffoodworth. R. S., "Experimental Psychology", .henry Holt and CoT, Hew York; Pp. 378 and 379.

CHAPTER VI

ANALYSIS OF THE D^IA AND THE RESULTS

Tie methods used in the analysis of the data of this research problem were relatively simple. The en­tire procedure that was involved in the preliminary organization of the data, the procedure preceding sta­tistical treatment, can be roughly reduced to three basic steps or stages? (1) Hie group of men and the group of women were divided into sub-group© on the basis of the trait-scores of th® individuals that com­prised them (which resulted in the emergence of a group representing each of the two polar aspects of every trait), (2) the mean color preference pattern of each of these sub-groups was determined (this pattern being a group of ratios representing the number of times a color was actually chosen in relation to the number of times a color could have been chosen), and (3) the color preference 'patterns of the two sub-groups that repre­sented the polar aspects of each personality trait were compared,---so that the similarities and differences, exhibited by these groups in regard to frequency of choice of each color, could be determined. Each com­parison, of the type described above, revealed several large differences in the color preference patterns of of the groups involved* It was necessary, therefore,

to find a means of ascertaining the degree of signifi­cance of these differences; a means of ascertaining whether or not the differences were large enough to warrant the belief that the sub-groups, on the basis of their mean color preference patterns, were not homo­geneous#

This is a very general outline of the entire pro­cedure utilized in the treatment of the data of this problem# It will be the purpose of this chapter to give a full description of this process of analysis, as well as a graphic illustration of the results.

ANALYSIS OF TUB DATA.The first step in the classification of the data

was one of comparing the mean scores that the group of men and the group of women achieved on the various traits of the battery of personality inventories. The mean dif­ference that separated the groups on each trait was as­certained, and a Mt H value was computed for each mean difference. The formula used to determine these "t" values was as follows?

n(n-l) 2t — x o * where 3x is the sum of the squaresSx

of the deviations from the mean, x is the difference be-waen the means, and n is the number of people who com-

(1)prise one of the two groups (which were of equal size).

But--— what is a "trt value? A * t M value, in very simple

language, is a number, indicative of a ratio (with ref­erence to any number of degrees of freedom,) that in­dicates the prob bility of frequency of appearance of an observed difference between the means of two, ran­domly selected groups* If the "t* value of a differ­ence between two means indicated that a difference this large was to be expected, on the basis of chance, in only one trial out of twenty (or less), the difference between the two means would be considered significant*A significant difference between two means suggests the possibility that chance isnft the only factor operating, that the groups are not of the same population.

In the calculations under consideration here, a wtH(2)value (at 18 degrees of freedom) of 2.101, or larger,

suggests a lack of homogeneity between the groups. The determination of the MtM values of the group mean trait scores of the men and women pointed out the fact that the men and women, on the group basis, did not differ significantly in terras of personality structure. The difference at trait "C " (Factors STDCH) was the largest trait difference, and the Mtrt value of this difference was only 1.35. Thus, in so far as personality structure was concerned, the men and women were very similar.

Next, the two groups were compared in terms of their group proportionate color preference patterns.

The women displayed a preference pattern of Blue, Blue- Green, Green, Yellow-Green, Yellow, Red, Violet, and Orange (in that order). The men preferred Blue, Blue- Green, Orange, Red, Green, Violet, Yellow, and Green, in the order given. This is not, however, the whole story. The two groups, as illustrated by Graph X, dis­played about the same frequency of preference for Blue, and possibly yellow, but their group responses to the other colors were significantly different in almost every case. Thus, on the basis of color preference pattern, the men and women appear as two very differ­ent groups. From this point on, they were treated as such. The group of women was dealt with first.

Toe procedure that was used from this point on was the one described on the first page of this chapter. Hie group of women was divided into sub-groups on the basis

of the individual^ scores on the many traits. Two meth­

ods of making the divisions were necessary, for the

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory rates the

individuals responses to the teat statements in terms of a "T" score, not a percentile. The first method was

used with those tests, made up of bi-polar traits, that

rendered a percentile score. All of the women whose

score, on a particular trait, was between zero and fifty-

no

90

80

70

6o

50

40

no

20

10

00

one percentile were placed in one group. Those women who achieved a score of fifty-one percentile or more were put in the other group* Thus, in the trait Bl-H (neurotic to well-adjusted) of Bernreuter1s "Personality Inventory*1, seven of the women were selected, on the basis of their percentile scores on this trait, to com­prise the group that represented neurotic behavior.Their scores ranged from 64$ to 99% on this scale, and their mean score was 78.71$. Thirteen women, whose scores ranged from 1$ to 36$, and whose mean score was 16.46$, were found to represent, to a greater or lesser degree, well-adjusted behavior. They were placed in the other sub-group. Toia was the first method of division that was used.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is composed in a slightly different fashion. The personality characteristics that are subjected to investigation by this inventory are hardly of a bi-polar nature. ilach of its nine scales inventories a symptomatic complex of be­havioral tendencies. These tendencies are present in all people, but the extent to which they dominate th® think­ing, feeling, and the behavior of these people varies from individual to individual. If, on the scale that in­ventories Paranoic tendencies, a person achieved a T score of fifty-two, it would indicate that this type of reaction pattern characterized a normal portion of his total behavior.

I f tin is T score reached seventy, it would offer the warning that the paranoic response was dominating an abnormal amount of his total behavior. The very low score is of relatively little value. It may, in fact, indicate a lack of full cooperation on the part of the testee#

The second method used in dividing the group of women into sub-groups, this time on the basis of their T scores received on the scales of the Minnesota Multi- phasic Personality Inventory, was as follows: (l) thosewomen who received a f score of fifty-eight or below were put in the sub-group that represented a normal expression of the personality characteristic being inventoried; (2) those women who had a T score of fifty-nine or above were placed in a second sub-group that represented a more ex­tensive expression of the symptomatic complex being in­ventoried. It is apparent that these sub-groups do not represent polar extremes of the same trait, but represent the degree of expression of the same type of behavior.

TABULATION OF THE MEAN SUB-QROU? COLOR PHEMiTlHHCE PATTERN.

As soon as the pairs of sub-groups had been deter­mined, they were prepared for the final comparison; the comparison of their color preference patterns. Several traits had to be dropped from further analysis at this point, for too few people were found to represent one of the two sub-groups that echoed its polar aspects* If less

than five persons comprised one of the sub-groups of a trait, further study of that trait was considered im­practical.

The mean color preference pattern of each sub-group was tabulated in the following manners (l) The color preference patterns of the individuals who comprised a sub-group were arrayed in the form of the twenty-eight choices that had been made on the color preference test; (2) The number of times each color was chosen by all of the individuals in the sub-group was tabulated; (3) In order to achieve an index of frequency of choice, these totals were divided by the number of choices that each color could have received.

Thus, each color is involved in seven comparisons in each test. If seven individuals comprised the sub­group being considered, the total number of choices that each color could have received would have been 7 x 7 choices, or 49. If, in addition, the color Red was chosen twenty-four times, it would have had a pref­erence frequency of about fifty percent. TV] is procedure was carried out on each sub-group and for each color. These frequencies were then graphed for each pair of sub-groups, so that the similarities and differences that characterized the comparison of pair could be more readily perceived.

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STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MBAi? PREFERENCE FREQilBNCY DIFFERENCES.

The next step in the analytical procedure was one of determining the Mtw value for each of the "differences between the two proportionate color preferences.M A table of all of these **tH values can be found on page • When a comparison is mads between the proportionate color pref­erences of the paired sub-groups, it is really a compar­ison between ratios. It was necessary to find a formula of **tw that would accomplish this job. Dr. Leslie N.Garlough , Head of the Department of Science, and Sta­tistical Advisor for this thesis, suggested a formula of ntn that suited the requirements of the data beautifully. The following formula was used to compute the Ht*‘ values of the proportionate color preference differences*

_ difference between proportions~ 1 1 ~ fx fg 1 1

p x q {1 -p)ni n2 nl n2 ni n2

where f is the number of choices given the colors, n is the number of choices the colors could have received, and Pi - Pg is the difference between the proportionate color preferences.

A graph has been prepared for each trait comparison.It illustrates the proportionate color preference that the two sub-groups being compared display for each of the eight colors, the differences between the proportion-

TAB LID OF n* VALUES OF MEAN PRO!3 CRT ICMAT3S COLOR PIL2FERKNCK DIFFERENCES

Berarsutcr Personality Inventory.B 80 G YG

81-N #248 2.410 2.997 .233B2-S 2.376 1.610 1.224 .707B3-I .248 2.410 2.997 .233B4-D • 372 .561 2.207 .000Fl-Q #248 O T fS *. . 77 { .233F2-S •349 1.804 .919 .000Johnson Temperament Analysis.

B BG G YGB 2.765 .000 1.977 1.495D. •372 1*020 2.208 1.581E 3.141 .000 2.333 2.785F 1.359 1.004 2.150 .2290 .253 1.159 1.217 .747R .367 2.305 2.339 1.375I .959 1.437 1.555 .000

Inventory of Factors GAMIN.1B BG G Yu

G 2.946 1.666 .766 1.077A 2.213 1.241 *104 .344I .926 1.241 2.548 • 3441? 2.645 1.596 1.850 .687

Inventory of Factors STDCR.1

B BG G XtjrS .372 .611 2.208 .000T •365 .886 1.501 .687D .797 3.014 3.594 1.718C .215 2.457 3.455 2.041R .372 .611 1.806 .395

Minnesota Multiphasic PersonalityB BG G YG

By* 3.8OI 1.296 • 766 «£ • J X«£?d. 2.088 1.241 •453 2.749Ma. 1.221 2.872 .213 1.742

These values were determined

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Pith this table use *tw as 1*96 (at

Y R V 0657 2.280 .163 .868561 2.247 2.563 1.98165? 2.280 .163 .868294 1.523 .894 .227•657 2.280 .163 .868,481 .072 2.134 2.177

Y n V 0• 998 .613 .930 .512

1.661 1.618 1.788 .22?1.238 2.065 .352 I.366.473 2.068 2.068 1.040• 111 .996 2.877 .370.357 1.616 1.864 1.302.482 .072 <£ . 2O4 1.845

Y R R 01.828 2.130 •974 .785I.O37 1.195 • 466 • 911.697 1.899 .655 1.067•357 1-547 .655 1.067

Y R V 0.293 1.618 .694 .227• 357 2.250 .310 1.4671.002 2.953 .655 1.067.846 3.132 1.538 .786

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2.546 1.709 1.209 3.770

with the use of the formula;

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•Ob level) and 2.58 (at #01 level)#' £ i

ate color preferences, and the MtH values for each difference. The most acceptable (socially) of the two polar extremes being treated is usually indicated with a Green line. Red is used to indicate the color pref­erence pattern of the less acceptable of the two. The results of the analysis will be presented in the follow­ing manners (l) each graph will be discussed in terms of the results it reveals; (2) as more and more graphs are discussed, correlations between the graphs will be indicated. At the end of this chapter, in the form of a summary, mention will be made of any outstanding sim­ilarities or differences that exist between the various patterns that have been discussed.

^RESENT ATION Off RESULTS.Bernreuter* s "PERSONALITY INVENTORY" traits Bl-H, B3-Iand Fl-C.

The three graphs that illustrate the color pref­erence patterns of the personality sub-groups of the traits listed above, 2leurotic--Well-adjusted, Introvert- Extrovert , Self-conscious--Self-confident, are the same. The high correlation among these three traits is demon­strated by the fact that the seven women who composed the sub-group, Neurotic, also composed the sub-groups, Introvert and Self-conscious. The remaining thirteen women make-up, in turn, the Well-adjusted, the Extrovert

and the Gelf-confident sub-groups. It seems advisable, therefore, to discuss these three graphs (Graph III,Graph IV, and Graph V) at the same time. In order to simplify the discussion, the sub-group titles, Neurotic and Well-adjusted, will be used to describe the results of all three graphs.

A first, rapid, scrutiny of the three graphs (the next three pages) should serve to reveal the fact that the color preference patterns of the Neurotic sub-group and the he11-adjusted sub-group, the Introvert sub-group and the Extrovert sub-group, the Self-conscious sub­group and the Self-confident sub-group differ signifi­cantly in terms of the frequency of choice of three col­ors; Blue-Green, Green, and Red* The group of women who represent Neuroticism prefer Blue-Green significantly less, Green significantly more, and Red significantly less than do the Well-adjusted women. The two groups, in the case of each of - the three graphs, prefer lue,Yellow-Green, Yellow, Violet, and Orange to about the

/same degree* "It would seem that neurotic and Veil-ad­justed people, on the level of the group, could be differ­entiated on the basis of their proportionate color pref­erence for the colors Blue-Green, Green, and Red*

It would seem, if color preference pattern and per­sonality structure are really related, that the differ­ences observed between the color preference patterns of

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these sub-groups should increase if the differences be­

tween the two sub-groups, in terms of the polarity of the aspects of personality they represent, are increased. In order to check this hypothesis, four women, the four women with the highest scores, were removed from the 'ell-adjusted group (the other group was to small to handle in this fashion). These women were removed be­cause they least illustrated tfell-adjusted personality make-up according to the "Bernreuter Personality Inven­tory. The mean score of this new sub-group dropped from 16.46;$ to 10.44^. Its eolor preference pattern was de­termined in the same way as was used on the original sub-groups. The black line represents th e new sub-group color preference pattern. Comparing, now, the black and red lines on Graph III, it will be noticed that the rela­tionships that existed between the red and green lines are still present# Hot only are the same general rela­tionships retained, but the differences are uniformly increased in every case.

Neurotic individuals are emotionally unstable, agi­tated, nervous individuals.. If it is permissable to as­sume, for a moment, that Green tends to be a soothing, subduing color, and that Red tends to be an exciting col­or, several interesting hypothesis are possible. First, the Neurotic individuals prefer, or tolerate, those col­ors that would, according to the previous definition, be

least apt to agitate them further. They tend to reject those colors, Red, Violet, and Orange, which would con­ceivably give them further discomfort. The Well-adjusted individuals, on the other hand, like (or tolerate) a wider range of colors. There isn’t the wide difference between their preference for Green and for Red that character­izes the Neurotic sub-group. (On the basis of this in­formation, it might be assumed that Neurotic individuals, on the group basis, know what is best for them. If given a little help, they would seem to be able to reduce their condition. This, however, is very flimsy hypothesizing*It would seem valuable to continue to check the other graphs for this same type of information.)

Bernr outer’s "PERSONALITY IWVrfTTORY’1--- trait B2-8.

When the color preference patterns of the sub-groups, Hon-Self-Sufficient and Self-Sufficient, of the trait 32-S are graphically portrayed, the general pattern differs fro: that previously studied. Inspecting, first, the solid red and green lines, it will be noticed that the largest dif­ferences in the two patterns occur at Blue, Red, Violet, and Oranre. From Blue-Green to Yellow, the patterns al­most coincide. Even though there are rather large differ­ences at Violet and Grange, further inspection seem nec­essary, for neither group actually pox'trays a real pref­erence for these colors. The Self-Sufficient sub-group, those individuals who prefer to be alone, rarely ask for encouragement or sympathy, and tend to ignore the advice of others, prefer Blue significantly more, Red signifi­cantly more, Violet significantly less, and Grange signi­ficantly more than does the ffon-Self-Sufficient group. Although the picture this graph presents differs from the graph of Neurotic and Well-adjusted people, one rath­er important similarity car be noticed. Again, the group that prefers Green to the greatest extent dislikes Red to the greatest extent. In this respect, the two graphs illustrate a certain correlation. It would appear that the Non-Self-Sufficient people, as a group, present at least a portion of that syndrome of personality make-up

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called Neurotic• In truth, every testee who scored as Neurotic, also scored, as Hon-Self-Sufficient. Some of the 2ffon-Self-Sufficient individuals did, however, appear to he i?ell-adjusted.

The two original groups were, again, reduced in number so that they illustrated, to a still greater ex­tent, the type of personality structure that was the criterion by which these sub-groups were formed in the first instance* The new (b) S o n -S e lf-S u fficient sub­group contained individuals whose scores ranged from 1,2 to 29$. The group mean was thus reduced from the orig­inal 20*92% to 11.88$. The Hew Self-Sufficient group was composed of individuals whose mean score had in­creased from 70,13$ to 75*00$. Checking, now, the dot­ted red and black lines, it will be observed that many of the original differences have been increased. The Self-Sufficient people prefer Blue to a greater extent than they did befor@---and prefer it more than do the Eton-Self-Sufficient people to an even greater extent than they did before. The difference between the two sub-groups has been reduced in the case of Blue-Green, This was, how­ever, a marginal difference before. The pattern of pref­erence in the case of Green and Fed (and these colors will be considered together from this point on) has been more firmly established. In both cases the difference has been increased. The difference that the two sub-groups

snow in regard to preference for Yellow-Green repre­sents an increase of about 12$ over the previous differ­ence. The difference is now significant. The differences that previously characterized their preferences for Violet and Orange have disappeared.

The new picture of the color preference patterns might well be compared with the last graphs studied. The colors red and green, operating more or less together, still form the dominant factor of the picture. In this respect, the four traits studied to this point are similar. The in­crease of the difference between preference frequencies for blue, and the decrease in the preference frequency for Blue-Green, implies a new factor. The development of a significant difference in proportionate color pref­erence for Yellow-Green is also of interest. As this discussion continues, it would seem advisable to watch for other traits that illustrate this large difference where yellow-green and Blue are concerned.

Bernreuter* s "PSBSOhALITY X YViiBTTORY" 1rait B4*D.

Graph YII, which illustrates the color preference patterns of the sub-groups (Submissive and Aggressive) of the Bernreuter trait B4-D, sv'ows many of the charac­teristics that were so typical of the Graphs of traits Bl-N, B3-1, and Pl-C. The people that comprise the Submissive sub-group have a color preference pattern that is reminiscent of the sub-groups Heurotic, Intro­vert, and Self-conscious* The Submissive individuals prefer Green 20*95/1? more than do the Aggressive indivi­duals* They prefer Hed 14•29$ less than the people who comprise the Aggressive sub-group*

It is apparent that these two sub-groups are not differentiated as clearly as the others have been on the basis of their color preference patterns. The difference between their proportionate color preferences for Green is significant* Hie difference between their proportion­ate color preferences for Bed, however, only closely ap­proaches a significant level* 'The significant differ­ence that characterised Blue-Green in the first three graphs (Graph III, Graph IV, Graph Y) is lacking here.The Green-Red relationship is present, but in a less ex­treme form. The lack of a difference at Blue, Yellow- Green, and Orange or Violet suggests a lack of corre­lation between this trait and trait B2-S (Self-Sufficient and Bon-Self-Sufficient)•

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Bernreuter's " PSR 30 HAL ITY INVENTORY11 F2-S*

Graph VIII, which can Be found on the following page, presents a new picture* The Red-Green relation­ship, which dominated many of the previous graphs, is completely lacking here# The colors Green, Yellow-Green Yellow, and Red are apparently of little value in differ entinting between the Social and Hon-Social sub-groups* The difference between the proportionate color prefer­ences of these two sub-groups for Blue-Green is almost large enough, 14*88/1, to approach the level of signifi­cance* Hie group of women who comprise trie ifon-Jocial sub-group prefer Violet significantly less, and Orange significantly more than do the “Social” women* These colors might possibly be of value in differentiating be­tween these two sub-groups*

The apparent lack of correlation between this trait and Bernreuter's trait B3-I, as far as the color prefer­ence patterns of the sub-groups are concerned, is of in­terest* If a trait can be thought of as a dimension of personality, as a bi-polar scale, it is possible to pic­ture these two traits in a more understandable way. As­suming that trait B5-I can be illustrated as a vertical component of personality, then trait J?2-8 must function as a horizontal one. Thus, an individual can be Extro­verted and Social, or Extroverted and Hon-3ocial* Ghe

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o f the "PSR30MALITY XMVSMTORY STDGR1*# (These two t r a i t s

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th e t r a i t s *S* and “T*#

5 8

"THIS JOIiKJOH T.ai£PimA:^T AMALYSISW trait *B" (Depressed-Gay-Heart ed)

The color preference patterns of the Depressed and Gay-Hearted sub-groups differ cignificantly in propor­tionate color preference for two colors — -and closely approach the level of significance in a third color* The women who comprise the Depressed sub-group prefer Blue sig­nificantly less, Green significantly more, and Yellow-Green more than do the Gay-Hearted women* The Gay-Hearted women express a color preference pattern that is reminiscent of the color preference pattern of the Self-Sufficient sub­group studied previously* The same comparison could be made between the Depressed sub-group and the Hon-Self- Sufficient sub-group. The wide difference that separated the sub-groups of the Bernrouter trait, B2-3, in regard to Red is lacking here, but on the whole, the general pic­ture is similar.

This comparison in terms of color preferences is backed up by the scores of the individuals in the two traits. All of those women who tended towards depression

also tended towards non-self-sufficiency.

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WTH2 JOIiHSOH TX&SRVZdSR? AHaLYSlS*1 — -trait •J)" (Cold and Cordial)

The color preference patterns of the two sub-groups of women who represent Cold and Cordial personality char­acteristics, as illustrated by Graph X, are interesting. The women who comprise the Cold aspect of this trait pre­fer, to a greater extent than do the Cordial women, the colors Blue, Blue-Green, Green, and Yellow-Green. These colors are considered by many persons to be the cool col­ors of the spectrum. The women of the Cordial sub-group, on the other hand, display a greater tolerance, or taste, for the warmer colors Yellow, Red, Violet, and Orange.The most useful colors in different!' ting between these two groups are Green, Yellow-Green, Yellow, Red, and Vio­let. Of these colors, only Green involves a difference that is significant. The other colors mentioned, closely approach the significant level, and might well contain an indication of the possible results that could accrue to a similar experiment with a larger sample.

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ttThB JOHHSCB R./Ui:jxr AXALYSIS"---trait «.2« (.Hard-Boiled and Sympathetic)

A glance at Graph XI, which portrays the color preference patterns of the sub-groups, Hard-Boiled and Sympathetic, will reveal the fact that a noticeable cor­relation exists between this Graph and Graph IX (Depress­ed and Gay-Hearted). The Hard-Boiled sub-group, as is true of the Depressed sub-group, prefer Blue significant­ly less (very significantly), Green significantly more, Yellow-Green very significantly more, and Red signifi­cantly less than do the women who comprise the Sympa­thetic sub-group* The Blue and Blue-Green factor, which was first niticed in Graph VI (lon-3elf-Sufficient and Self-Sufficient), and later in Graph IX, is present here. The Green and Red factor, that functioned so strongly in the first three graphs (Heurotic and v/ell-Adjusted, In­trovert and iSxtrovert, and Self-Conscious and Self-Con­fident), is also present.

Actually, the correlation that appears to exist be­tween the color preference patterns represented by Graph X and Graph XI is upheld by the scores of the individuals tasted. In sixteen cases out of twenty, the individual who tended to be cold was also Hard-Boiled, and the per­son -who tended towards Sympathetic behavior also tended to be Cordial. Thus, the color preferences of the In­dividuals that make up these groups reflects their per-

3o rial i ty mak e-up • ,

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T H E JObNSGN ARALYJIG”---trait "7* ( Sub-j ective---Objecti ve)

Graph XII (Subjective and. Objective presents, to a lesser degree, the color preference patterns that char­acterised the IT euro tic and Woll-Adjuct cd nut-groups that were discussed previously* Trie differences fcund at Blue and Blue-Green, neither of which are significant, disa­gree with the results of the other graph, as does the large difference at Violet* The significant differences at Red and Green, along with the similarity of j)ropor- tionate color preference for Yellow-Green and Yellow, re­sembles closely the other Graph* All of the women who suggested Objectivity also were i/ell-Adjueted* Seven out of thirteen of the women who were Subjective were also Neurotic* The scores agree in fourteen out of a possible twenty cases. The color preference patterns reflect this. TVs ere is also a marked similarity between this Graph and and the Graph that portrays the Bernreuter trait, B4-D {3ubmissive--Agreosive). The color preference pattern of the Subjective sub-group closely resembles that of the Submissive Sub-group* This parallel also characterizes the color preference patterns of the two sub-groups, Ob­jective and Aggressive*

Three colors, then, are of importance in differen­tiating these two sub-groups; Green, Red, and Violet* The differences in proportionate color preferences for these

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th re e co lo rs a re a l l s ig n if ic a n t * The s u b je c tiv e sub­

group p re fe rs Green s ig n i f ic a n t ly more. Bed s ig n i f ic a n t ly

l e a s , and V io le t s ig n i f ic a n t ly le s s than does the O b je c tiv e

sub-group*

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"ThIS JOhJISON TAAPARA IAST ANALYSIS" trait "G"(Aggressive and Submissive)

The graph for trait "G" i>resents only one propor­tionate color preference difference that is large enough to suggest significanoe. The color Violet is liked sig­nificantly less by the Submissive sub-group than it is by the Aggressive sub-group (very significantly less.) Again, as in Graph VII, which deals with the Eernreuter sub-groups, Submissive and Aggressive, the Submissive sub-group likes Green more, and Bed less, than do the women of the Aggressive sub-group. In this trait, how­ever, the differences between the two groups are less ex­tensive. It would be very interesting to attempt to as­certain the reason for the difference at Violet. If the difference represented the difference in associations that the color brought to the minds of the individuals who composed the two groups, it would be of value to de­termine the nature of these associations.

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JOTHSOK TBLIP3RABJ3H? AITALYGIS" trait »KH(Appreeiative--Critical)

Graph XIV, which portrays the polar sub-groups of trait ,lIiM (Appreciative and Critical), mirrors the Graphs that illustrate the color preference patterns of the sub­groups of Bernreuter* s traits £3-1, and Fl-C. T\:i&

significant difference at Blue-Green, as well as the sig­nificant, or large, differences at Green, Bed, and Violet, reflect the differences found on the other graphs. It would appear that the Critical individual and the neu­rotic (or Introverted and Self-Conscious) individual, as well as the Appreciative and Well-Adjusted individual, had much in common. This apparent similarity is, sub­stantiated by the scores of the individuals who comprise the sub-groups. In fifteen cases out of twenty, indivi­duals who scored as Appreciative or Critical scored also as Well-Adjusted, and the women who scored as Critical also scored as ITeurotic#

Four colors are apparently of value in differentia­ting between the Appreciative and Critical sub-groups. These colors are Blue-Green, Green, Red, and Violet. The Critical (as was true of the Heurotic, Introverted, and 3elf-Conscious sub-groups) sub-group preferred Blue- Green significantly less, Green significantly more, and Red and Violet much less than did the individuals of the Appreciative sub-group. The real difference between

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tb ese two color preference patterns stems from toe fact that the Critical individuals apparently have, as a group, more extreme likes or dislikes for colors thando the women of the other group- The Critical sub­group exhibits strong preference for Blue, Green, and Yellow-Green- Their frequency of preference falls off rapidly from this point on, with three colors closely grouped at the lower extreme® The Appreciative sub­group, on the other hand, show strong preference forBlue and Blue-Green, exhibit moderate preference (ortolerance) for four others (Green, Yellow-Green, Yellow, and Red), and then dip more slowly to a level of appar­ent dislike (with one color in a marginal position, and the other quite low). This discussion seems to bring to light another factor that differentiates these sub­groups from each other- It is a matter of consistency and extent of preference on the group level. The Neu­rotic » Introverted, Self-Conscious, Non-Self-Gufficiant, Submissive, Depressed, Cold, Hard-Boiled, Subjective, Submissive (Johnson Temperament Analysis), and Critical women tend more to acclaim or avoid colors---the same colors. The sub-groups that represent the opposite polar aspect of these traits tend, on the other hand, to por­tray less extreme preferences in either direction, and tend to tolerate most colors. The point of consistency must be stressed again, for the previous statement doesn* t

adequately explain it. Hie Appreciative individuals (and all the other sub-groups that are being considered with them) tend to give many of the colors a proportion­ate color preference of about fifty percent* This does not mean that the individuals within the groups prefer these colors half of th© time to the extent of a fourth or fifth position in the field of eight, but rather that there is less consistency of preference position in the case of these individuals* They tend, on the individual level to give these colors all positions from first to last place, and, on the group level, very few colprs are consistently liked very much, or disliked very much*

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*HI£ JOLITSGM TiSHPiniU^HT AHALYGISn— trait «X*(impulsive and Self-Mastery)

Graph XV, which illustrates the Johnson trait *1*( Im p u ls ive and Self-Eatery) , is characterized by few significant differences* This fa c t may he due, in part, to the fact that most of the te s tee s who comprise the Impulsive sub-group tended to assume a position, on th is

trait scale, near the middle* Six of the twelve indivi­duals who comprised this sub-group scored above thirty percent* The women in th e Impulsive sub-group did pre­fer Blue-Green less, and Green more, than did the women characterized by Self-Mastery# The proportionate color preferences of these two groups disagreed significantly only at Violet, however, where the impulsive sub-group preferred this color less than did the Self-Mastery sub­

group* In all other colors, these two groups seem the same*

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"FACTORS GAMIN* — trait "G* (iiigb Overt Activity— Low Overt Activity)"MINN, I1ULTI. PERSONALITY IHVI2N." trait "Ma. "(Hypomanic- -Ho rraal)

Since these two graph© (Graph XVI and Graph X V II)

present very similar patterns, they will be discussed at the same tim e* The only real difference between them is the larger ©cope of the differences that separate the sub­groups that are illustrated by Graph X V I I I * The MH Igh

Overt Activity" and the Hypomanic* (T of 59 and up) sub­groups prefer, to a greater extent than do their compli­mentary sub-groups (Low Overt Activity and Hypomania- normal)t the primary c o lo rs — w ith the exception of Red*The "Low Overt Activity" and Hypomania-normal sub-groups prefer, to a greater extent than do the other sub-groups, the secondary colors-— with the exdeption of Orange*This rather unusual pattern of proportionate color pref­erence relationships is apparently broken by the inver­sion of the sub-group preferences for Red and Orange*It is a variation that might have been expected* The Red and Green factor, which has been seen to operate in most of the Graphs, is also apparent here* 2Io sub-group has ever preferred both Red and Green more than, or less than, did its complimentary sub-group* These two basic primaries figure in almost every Graph, and appear to be of importance in differentiating between the sub-groups that represent the polar aspects of the various traits.

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Observing more closely, first, the graph of factor "G", it will be noticed that the "High Overt Activity" sub-group prefers Blue significantly more, Red signifi­cantly less, Blue-Green less, and Yellow more than does the "Low Overt Activity" sub-group* Although Blue- Green and Yellow do not present significant differences, they do involve differences in proportionate color pref­erence that are large enough to approach closely a sig­nificantly level*

Graph XVII, on the other hand, presents color preference patterns that differ more extensively* The sub-group that represents an excessive presence of Hy­pomanic pattern of behavior prefers Blue-Green very sig­nificantly less, Yellow very significantly more, and Orange very significantly more than does the sub-group that is comprised of those women who Illustrate a nor­mal tendency towards Kyporaania* Hie differences at Red and Yellow closely approach a significant level*

These two graphs are very similar, and suggest the correlation that exists between these two traits.

"FACTORS GAMI23"-— trait "A" (Submissive and Ascendant)

In-so-far as this sample of women is concerned, col­or preference is of little value in differentialing be­tween Submissive and Ascendant sub-groups. These two sub-groups differ significantly in respect to preference frequency for the color Blue, but this is the only color that can be considered of value. The remainder of the colors reflect differences that are reminiscent of, in a very weak manner, previous patterns. It would seem valuable to analyse this trait again, with a larger num­ber of individuals in the sub-groups, and with more ex­treme individuals in each sub-group*

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"FACTORS GAMI2J* trait ”1". (Self-Conscious and Self-Confident )

The two sub-groups that illustrate the polar aspects of this trait, Self-Conscious and Self-Confident (Graph XIX)f display significant differences in their propor­tionate color preferences for the colors Red and Green*The Self-Conscious sub-group prefers Green significantly more and Ked significantly less than does the Self-Con­fident sub-group* The difference at Blue-Green, which was more dominate in the Graph that illustrated the trait Bl-H, is noticeable, though not significant. The similar­ities between the proportionate color preference patterns of the 1?euro tic women and the Self-Conscious women, be­tween the women of the Self-Confident sub-group and the women that comprise the Well-Adjusted sub-group, are quite evident*

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“FACTORS GATJJ\“ trait (Nervous and Calm)

The proportionate color preference patterns of the sub-groups, Nervous and Calm, pictured in the graph on the following page, differ in regard to the colors Blue, Blue-Green, Green, and Red. The only significant differ­ence is at Blue, hut the differences at Blue-Green, Green, and Red are of interest* With the exception of the ex­treme preference shown for Blue, the color preference pattern of the Nervous sub-group resembles that for the Neurotic sub-group of trait Bl-N. The women that com­prise the Nervous sub-group prefer Blue significantly more, Blue-Green less, Green more (almost significantly}, and Red lees than do the women of the Calm sub-group.

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11 FACTORS STDCR* traits MStt and *TH(Introvert-Extrovert, Social)(Introvert-Extrovert, Thought)

As was mentioned previously, the two traits **3M and ttTw will be treated together. The proportionate color preference patterns of the sub-groups of these traits present variations that are most easily understood when observed together.

Looking first at Graph XXI, it will be noticed that the women who comprise the Introvert sub-group (social) prefer Green significantly more, and Red much less than do the women of the Extrovert sub-group. Experience with previous graphs should suggest the propriety of the con­trasting color preferences of these two sub-groups*

Turning to the next graph (Graph XXII,-----the women who comprise the Introvert (thought) sub-group display a proportionate color preference pattern that echoes the pattern of the Social Extrovert sub-group. In this graph, the women who make-up the Introvert sub-group prefer green much less, and Red significantly more than do the Ex­troverted women. The apparent conflict between the trait preferences illustrated by these two graphs, the apparent reversal in preferences raises the question of the rela­tionships that one trait bears to the other. It is easy to distinguish the relationship that trait "3M (Graph XXI) bears to trait Bl-H, for instance. The woman who tends

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towards Social-Introvertism displays a proportionate color preference pattern which is very similar to that of the woman who tends towards Heuroticism. The same correlation exists between the color preference patterns of the sub-groups that represent the opposite polar as­pects of the traits* Trait HTM, however, presents a slightly different problem* The traits "3H and M?w are very evidently different personality factors---but how different? In what ways do they differ?

In an attempt to answer these questions, a third graph was prepared, Graph XXIIb. This graph illustrates the proportionate color preference patterns of three sub­groups* These three new sub-groups were formed on the basis of a two-trait classification. The two sub-groups of Graph XXI were the basis of the new system. They were in turn, sub-divided on the basis of the women’s ratingsin terms of trait *TM• Thus, there should have been four

S T 3new sub-groups -(1) Introvert-Introvert, (2) Introvert-

T 3 T 3Extrovert, (3) Extrovert-Introvert, and (4) .Extrovert-

TExtrovert. Actually, there were too few Social-Intro- verts to make the first two classifications practical, so all of these individuals were placed in one sub-group, "Introvert-IntrovertH. There were five women in this sub group. The color preference pattern of this first sub­group is the same as that of the Introverts of Graph XXI. It will be discussed at greater length later. The second

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sub-group, "Kxtrovert-Introvert*, is made up of nine women. This is, evidently, one of the strongest points of difference between the two traits. The proportion­ate color preference pattern of this sub-group is illus­trated by the solid Green line. The color preference pattern of this group, it will be noticed, is predomin­antly the color preference pattern of the Extrovert sub- group of trait M3", and the Introvert sub-group of trait "T”• The third sub-group, which is made-up of those women who tend to display the characteristics of Social- Extrovert ism and Though t-Extrovertiam, displays a slight­ly different color preference pattern than the previous sub-group. The proportionate color preference pattern of this sub-group, which is comprised of six women, is illustrated by the broken green line. The proportional color preference for Blue-Green is about 14$ greater, and the preference for Yellow is approximately 15$ less. The relationship between these two traits can be most easily expressed as two vectors {dimensions)that inter­sect at right angles. Such a basic plan allows for four quadrants, quadrants that correspond to the four sub­groups first listed. In order to give more of an idea as to the nature of the two traits being discussed, more should be said about the first sub-group mentioned, the "Introvert-Introvert” sub-group. This sub-group con­tained both Introverted and Extroverted women as far as

the trait "T" classification was concerned* When this sub-group is broken down further into the two sub-groups suggested earlier, more cause for the differences be­tween the two traits is evident* The Introvert-Extro- vert sub-group displays a very large preference for Green, about 85$, and a small proportional preference for Had, 5$, The Introvert-Xntrovert sub-group, on the other Viand, displays a proportional preference of 65;! for Green, and a preference of 57$ for Red* According to the information of previous graphs, then, the Intro­vert -Introvert sub-group, as well as the Extrovert sub- groups, has a proportionate color preference pattern that suggests acceptable social adjustment* The propor­tionate color preference pattern of the women who think as Extroverts— but act as Introverts----suggests the presence of conflict, of Meuroticism.

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"PACTCR8 STDCR" traits *BM and "C* (Depressed-Optimistic)(Cycloid-ilon-Cycloid)

'Hie proportionate color preference patterns of the sub-groups that represent the polar aspects of the traits HDW and HCM are so similar that both graphs (Graph XXIII and Graph XXIV) will be discussed at the same time*

The Cycloid and Depressed sub-groups, as is also true of the two other sub-groups, express very similar proportional color preferences* The women who comprise these two sub-groups prefer blue-Green significantly less (very significantly in the case of the Depressed sub­group), Green very significantly more, Yellow-Green sig­nificantly more, Red very significantly less, Violet less, and Orange slightly more than do the women of the Ron-Cy- cloid and Optimistic sub-groups* if the colors were ar­ranged in their proper sequence (blue, blue-Green, Green, Yellow-Green, Yellow, Grange, Red, and Violet), it would be more easy to recognize the fact that these first two sub-groups prefer colors from Green to Grange more, and colors (hues) from Red to blue less than do the indivi­duals in the other two sub-groups* It is difficult to imagine why the Depressed women dislike Blue-Green more than blue, when actually blue-Green is closer to Green, This characteristic of the proportional color preferences of the Cycloid and Depressed sub-groups mi got be partia lly explained by the over-all preference given blue by most

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"FACTORS 3TDCR" trait "H" {Bh a thymic -Non-Hb a thymic )

The proportionate color preference patterns of the two sub-groups of the trait WBM, which are illustrated by Graph XXV, differ rather drastically in terms of sev­eral colors. The Rhathymic sub-group, which is designa­ted by the Green line {for it represents the least social­ly acceptable polar extreme of the trait), prefers Green much more, Yellow significantlv more, and Red very signi­ficantly less than does the ITon-Khatbynic sub-group# The extreme differences at Yellow and Red, particularly at Yellow, seem to be the characteristics, as far as color is concerned, that differentiate between these two sub­groups# In no other graph has a difference this large separated the sub-group proportional color preferences for Yellow.

In as much as the more socially acceptable sub-group has evinced a more extreme preference for Green, and a less extreme preference for Red, it would seem logical to conclude that this trait bears about the same relation­ship to trait "8" as did trait "TH*

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5*?hh riyiN. ruz/n. r.^coitality iin'nbTGin™---trait wKyH(Hysteria— -T of 59 and up)(Hysteria— ? of 58 and dcv/n)

line traits of the MMinnesota Multipbasic Person­ality Inventory'* have a slightly different form and mean­ing than do the traits of the other personality inventor­ies used in this research problem* In the first place, the traits of this inventory are not, in the same fashion as are the traits of the other inventories, hi-polar in nature* There appears to be an implicit assumption, evi­dent in the construction and scoring of the traits, that every individual is characterized by the symptomatic com­plex of each trait to a certain degree. Thus, the symp­tomatic complex Hysteria is considered to be a basic, un­avoidable part of every individual’s personality structure. It is not a pattern of behavior or thinking that can b© eliminated. This inventory is used to determine the ex­tent to which a particular symptomatic complex dominate© the personality of the indivicsual---not to determine the presence or absence of tbs complex.

The sub-groups that represent this trait (Ry} can­not be labeled Hysterical and Hon-Ryaterica1, but must rather be called Hyateria (dominant) and Hysteria (normal manif©station)•

A short scrutiny of Graph XXV'I should reveal the fact that the women wno comprise the Hysteria (dominant)

pj BG trait

sub-group prefer the color Blue very s ig n i f ic a n t ly moref Yellow-Green significantly less, Yellow much less, and Bed, Violet, and Grange more than do the women who are characterised by the symptomatic complex Hysteria to a

more normal extent. It is evident that the colors Green and Bed are of little value in differentiating between the two sub-groups* This lack of similarity between the proportionate color preference patterns of these two sub-groups and the sub-group® of the trait Isl-H (lleurotic-Well-Adjusted) suggests a possible idea* I t

suggests the possibility that the extent of dominance of this symptomatic complex does not influence the de­gree and adequacy of ad justm ent— in so far as trait B l-N

is concerned* A dominant Hysteria pattern is a method of adjustment.

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"THE in.Mi* IIjLTI. P3B3GBALITY IWRDfORY’1- — trait *P6* (Psychopathic Deviate-— T of 59 and up, Dominant){Psychopathic Deviate T of 58 and down, formal)

The women who comprise the sub-group "Psychopathic Devi a t e----Bomi nint” prefer Blue significantly more, Yellow- Green significantly less, and Grange significantly more than do the women who display a more normal manifestation of this symptomatic complex# Blue and Yellow-Green are again of value in differentiating between the sub-groups — though the difference at Blue is not as large as that illustrated by the previous graph. Close scrutiny sug­gests the possibility that there is a slight correlation between the two traits (*Hyw and ** Fd *).

downjtrait

A 3AAPLJ8 0F TnA RESULTS ACAIEVED «VITH TiU DATA OF TUB gROtlp o F g . .......... “ “ * * "

In order to achieve greater clarity in tr.ia picture of the equasion and analysis of the factors of color pref­erence pattern and personality structure, it seems advis­able to present a sample of the results that accrued to the analysis of the data derived from the group of men.It was mentioned previously that the group of men and the group of women had to be handled separately. The two groups differed significantly in regard to both mean col­or preference pattern and mean personality trait score.As the results of the analysis of the group of men are presented, it will become even more apparent that such a method of treatment was absolutely necessary.

Bernreuter’s "PERSONALITY IWAIITGRY* trait Bl-N, (Neurotic-tfell-Adjusted)

The first glance at graph XXVIII, which presents the mean color preference patterns of the two sub-groups of men (Neurotic and tfell-Adjusted)» brings to lignt the fact that the two sub-groups of men are differentiated b; differ­ent orders. It will be recalled that the Neurotic sub-group of women preferred Blue-Green significantly less, Green sig­nificant! y more, and Red significantly less than did the »/ell-Adjusted. sub-group. Although the two sub-groups of men differ in their mean proportional color preference for the color Blue-Green, the difference is not significant,

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and the Heurotie sub-group displays a greater degree of preference than does the well-Adjusted sub-group* There is no difference at Green. The most drastic difference, a difference that is not shared by the sub-groups of women, is between the mean proportional color preferences of these two sub-groups in regard to the color yellow.The difference is one of 29.52$, and is very significant. Hie men that comprise the Meurotie sub-group prefer Yellow significantly less than do the men in the we11-Adjusted sub-group. The Reurotic sub-group prefers, in addition,Red more and Violet more than does the Veil-Adjusted sub­group. These mean proportional color preferences illus­trate a reversal of the relationships found, with the sub­groups of women*

Since the differences that exist between the mean proportional color preferences of these two groups in re­lation to the colors Blue-Green, Red, and Violet are not quite significant, it might be felt that this particular pattern does not actually constitute a certain reversal of the pattern presented by the two sub-groups of -women.In order to test this hypothesis, as well as the consis­tency of the relationship between color preference pattern and personality structure, the same method used in relation to the sub-groups of women will be tried in this case. The sub-group of Well-Adjusted men, which is the larger group, will be reduced in size so as to reduce the ...ean trait

score of this sub-group. Hie differences noted between the mean color preference patterns of these two sub­groups should increase as the difference between their mean trait scores becomes more extreme. The dotted line represents the new sub-group. Hie Range on trait of the new sub-group has been reduced from l$-48$ to 1$-16$, and the mean trait score has been reduced from 12.33$ to 6.33$. In every case— in every color — tbe relationships noted before have been strengthened---- the differences have been increased. In view of this fact, the first hypothesis, i.e., that the particular reversal of pattern noted in regard to the colors Blue- Green, Red, and Violet, might not actually constitute a real reversal due to the small size of the differences is not tenable. The second hypothesis, i.e., that an in crease in the difference that separates the sub-groups in regard to mean trait score should be echoed by a simi lar increase in the differences that separate the sub­groups in regard to mean color preference pattern ifcolor preference pattern and personality structure are related, is apparently founded on a sounder basis of fact.

The difference that separates the mean proportional color preferences of the sub-groups at the color Blue- Green has now increased to the point that it has almost become significant. The differences th t now separate

thg two groups in regard to the colors Ked arid Violet

are significant— or closely approach it. The difference at Red is about 21.00$. The difference at Violet is approximately 17.00$.

The Neurotic sub-group (of men), thus, prefers Blue- Green more, Yellow very significantly less, Red signi­ficantly more, and Violet much more (perhaps significant­ly more) than does the #ell-Adjust@d sub-group. It will be noted that the Well-Adjusted sub-group displays great­er tolerance for all colors, with fewer extreme likes or dislikes. H i s fact was noted in regard to the mean pro­portional color preferences of the sub-groups of women th at represented the more socially acceptable extreme of the traits in question. The men as a whole group, display a greater tolerance for all of the colors, and less extreme likes or dislikes for any of the colors, than do the women as a whole, In most of the graphs that represent the sub-group proportionate color prefer­ence patterns of the women, nine to eleven proportional color preferences will be found to lie above sixty per­cent or below forty percent. In this graph (Graph XXVIII), which represents the proportionate color preference patterns of the Neurotic and Uell-AdJusted sub-groups of man, only seven proportional color preferences exhibit this tendency to be extreme.

Bernreuter1 s ■PERSONALITY INVENTORY* trait j?2-3(Social-Hon-Social)

Graph XXIX, which displays the proportionate color preference patterns of the two sub-groups of the trait “F2-3W, illustrates reversals in sub-group color pref­erence patterns (with reference to the proportionate color preference patterns of the sub-groups presented in the previous graph) that resemble those found when th© graphs of traits WSM and HTH were compared# The Ifon-Social sub-group, which is composed of ten men, pre­fers Blue-Green much less, Yellow-Green much more, Red very significantly less, Violet much less, and Grange significantly more than does the sub-group of Gocial men. When this graph is compared with Graph XXVIIi, it would appear that the men who tend towards acceptable social adjustment also tend to be non-social. His, however, is not precisely the case. These two traits bear about the same relationship to each other that was suggested for the the traits HSW and HT % Imagine again these two di­mensions of personality as being represented b'-- two lines or scales that intersect at right angles. The quadrant MNeur otic-Jocial" illustrates the personality character­istics of three men, the quadrant "lleuro tic-lion-Joe ialM describes the make-up of two men, seven men fall in the quadrant "Well-Adjusted-Jocial", and eight men can be described as MWe 11 - Ad j u s t e d-Xon-docia1H • It would appear

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ty p e , these two t r a i t s to g e th e r , and to break them down

in to fo u r suh-groups on the basis o f a tw o -fo ld c la s s i ­

f ic a t io n *

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"FACTORS 3TBCR” trait WDW (Depre&aed-Cptimiatie)Men and tfcmen

The proportionate color preference patterns of the trait "DM sub-groups of the Men and the Women have been presented on one, final graph, Graph XXX. It was felt that such a portrayal night help to illustrate the mul­tiple relationships that characterize the color prefer­ence patterns of the sub-groups and the main groups.

On observing the data presented in Graph XXX, it is apparent that the four sub-groups differ only slightly in regard to proportional preference for the color Blue. This color fails to differentiate between the sub-groups of one sex, the sub-groups of either sex, or between the two sexes. In terms of Blue-Green, the Optimistic (women) sub-group displays a much larger proportional preference than do the other sub-groups. The Depressed (women) sub­group records a significantly larger preference for Green than do the three other sub-groups. This color appears to be of value in isolating those women, on the sub-group basis, who tend towards a depressed pattern of perception. The color Yellow-Green appears to have a point of differ­ence, in so far as proportional preference was concerned, that has differentiated between most all of the sub-groups. The women, as a group, prefer Yellow-Green significantly more than do the men. The Depressed women prefer it much more than do the Optimistic women. The color Yellow seems

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to have differenti.nted the sub-group of Depressed sen. This male sub-group prefers Yellow very signifleantly less than do the other three sub-groups. The woman as a whole prefer Red signifleantly less than do the men.The women who comprise the Depressed sub-group prefer Red significantly less than do the women of the Optimis­tic sub-group, while the Depressed men prefer Red much more than do the Optimistic men. The Optimistic men and women differ little in their preference for Red. They appear to neither like nor dislike the color. The De­pressed women, on the other hand, differ drastically from the Depressed men in terms of their proportional preference for Red. In terms of their proportional pref­erence for the color Violet, the women display a signi­ficantly smaller preference for the color than do the men. The Depressed men prefer Violet significantly more than do the men or women who comprise the other sub­groups. The largest difference separates the Depressed men and the Depressed women. The men and the 'women are separated by a very significant difference in terms of their proportional preference for the color Orange. Al­though this color does not differentiate between the De­pressed or Optimistic sub-groups of either sex, it cer­tainly differentiates between the sexes.

This graph illustrates, as has no other graph, the

necessity for treating the men and the women separately

in research of this type* It illustrates the wide differ­ences in proportional preference that can separate sub­groups of men and women who represent the same polar aspect of the trait. It illustrates, further, that the largest differences, and more extreme preferences, are typical of the less socially acceptable sub-groups, wh i 1 e the sub-groups that represent the more acceptable aspect of the trait (for the men and the women) are very close together in most cases.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND SUGGESTION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

This final chapter '.Till bo used to present (1} a summary of the methodology involved in this research problem, (2) the conclusions that have resulted from a thorough analysis of the data obtained, from the forty testees, and (3) some suggestions for future research,

SiMUARY.

(1) A test-group, made-up of twenty men and twenty women, was selected from the student body at the University of Omaha•

(2) The MPseudo-Xsochromatic Plates for Testing Color Perception” were used to eliminate those students who displayed any color vision weakness.

(3) Five well-known personality tests, comprising thirty- three trait measures (not necessarily all of them ware distinct, because different inventories measured somewhat the same trait in several instances), were administered to the students who made-up the test- group.

(4) The color preference test was then given. The paired comparison method of presentation, in which the eight colors (blue, Llue-Greea, Green, Yellow-Green, Yellow, Grange, Red, and Violet) were shown in all possible combinations, two ct a time, 'was used*

The group of men and the group of women were found to be significantly different both in personality structure and color preference pattern. Therefore, these two groups were treated separately.On the basis of standings in the traits, as measured by the tests used, the group of men and the group of women were divided into sub-groups. (For in­stance, the women whose scores on each trait were 51 percentile or greater were placed in one sub­group. Those women whose scores were 50 percentile or less were placed in the other sub-group. These sub-groups, created on the basis of the testae’s standing on each of the thirty-three traits, were considered to be representative of the polar aspects of the traits measured*)The color preference pattern of each sub-group was then determined.

(a) The number of times a color was preferred (each individual experienced each eolor in seven different pairings) by all of those individuals who raadeup each sub­group was tabulated.

(b) Th© totals thus determined (which repre­sented the actual number of choices given each color) were divided by the numberof choices possible in the case of each color (which was determined by multi­plying the number of choices possible in the case of each color (7) by the number of individuals who made up the sub-group.

Trie numbers that resulted (represented by percents)were the proportional color preferences of the colors.

(8 ) The two sub-groups that represented, the polar aspects of each trait were than compared in terms of these sub-group color preference patterns (pro­portional color preferences)# The differences that separated these sub-groups, in terms of each proportional color preference, were determined- — as were the mt* values of the differences#

(9) The data were thoroughly analyzed to determine whether or not the sub-groups that represented the polar aspects of each trait differed significantly in terms of proportional color preference pattern.

QQ HChU 5 XG If 3 »From this study the following conclusions appear to

be warranted;(1) Relationships do exist between personality structure,

as measured by standardized personality tests, and sub-group proportional color,, preference patterns.

(2) There appeared to be a particularly strong linkage between personality structure and the proportional color preferences for Green and Red. In vie/ of the fact that these two colors are very similar in bright ness and saturation, it would appear that hue was the characteristic that was responsible for the propor­tional color preferences given then by the sub-groups as well as for the differences in proportional color

preference that separated the sub-groups.In every instance, the sub-group that preferred Green more (as contrasted to the other sub-group) preferred Red less. The sub-group that preferred Green more and Bed less represented, in almost every ease, the less 11 socially acceptable” polar aspect of the trait in question.The proportional color preferences given Blue and Blue-Green were also of frequent value in differ­entiating between the sub-groups representing th© polar aspects of the same trait. when the differ­ence at Blue grew large, a large difference was al­most always present at Yellow-Green. A large diff­erence between the proportional color preferences for Blue-Green was usually accompanied by a signi­ficant presence of the Red-Green factor.The sub-groups that represented high and low overt activity were differentiated on tire basis of their preferences for primary and secondary colors. The individuals characterized by high overt activity appeared to prefer the primary colors more, and the secondary colors less, than did the individuals of the "Low Overt Activity” sub-group.The general pattern of the proportional color pref­erence patterns of the sub-groups helped to differ­entiate them. The pattern of the less socially

acceptable sub-group (as far as personality make­up is concerned) was usually characterized by moreextreme preferences and fewer "tolerances." The sub-group that represented the more socially accept­able aspect of the trait, on the other nand,usually displayed a proportional color preference of about 50 percent for most colors, and more extreme pref­erence for very few colors. This difference in proportional color preference pa 11 e rn also differ­entiated between the men and the women (as groups).The women seemed, on the whole, to be more excessiveand consistent in their color preferences.On the basis of the analysis of the color preference patterns of the sub-groups, it would appear that there was conaiderable over-lapping in the portion of personality structure inventoried by each trait. Color preference might 'well be used as a catalytic agent in graphically mapping the structure of per­se nality*In view of the findings of this study, it appears likely that those colors that are best suited to the surroundings of any particular personality type might be determined on the basis of a person­ality test---those colors for the individual’s home, clothing, etc., that would be most pleasing or least aggrivating. After the personality type had been

determined, the color data gathered for this re­search problem would be used.

(9) finally, it is the opinion of this investigator, an opinion based on study of th 3 relationships that ex­ist between the proportional color preference patterns of the 3ub-groups and the aspects of personality structure that they represent, that the color pref­erence test, modified slightly, :light become a usable instrument in tasting for personality structure type-— or make-up* 3uch a test would ‘cava the advantages of involving little, if any, word symbolism, and of tak­ing little time for administration and grading*

3U0G3STI0MS FOR FUTURE RB3ISARCK*It would seem advisable to repeat tb© present study

using a greater number of testees* This increase in the size of the sample would permit the sample to be broken down into a grew ter number of sub-groups on the basis of the scores in each trait (for instance, there could be a sub-group that repreaanted the individuals who scored from 1 to 10 percentile, from 11 to 25 percentile, from 26 to 75 percentile, from 76 to 90 percentile, and from 91 to 100 percentile)* It might also be possible to de­termine what as so o iat i 0 n a, if any, influence1 tie indivi­dual's preference for certain colors* Thus, it could be determined why the individuals who comprised the sub­groups differed in terms of color prefsrenc© and, con-

sequently, personality structure*An attempt might also be made to determine the de­

gree of like or dislike that the individual exhibited for t .e colors* Kia pattern could then be compared to the group proportional color preference patterns as de­termined in tois research problem*